YuGiOh! Legend :: Three Phantoms Arc
by The Whispering Wind
Summary: This is my own yugioh series. I will give info about cards I created for the story at the end of the chapters they are in. In some chapters, I use a few religious terms. Please do not be offended. I mean nothing by using them except as interesting names
1. Hunted

**Episode One: Hunted**

On the platform of a subway station, a young girl waits for the train. She sighs and shoulders her backpack. Raising her arm, she checks her watch and leans forward to look down the tunnel, but sees nothing except darkness. She leans back and looks up, tapping her foot. She looks back to the tunnel and smiles hearing a distant rumbling. A beam of light shines out of the tunnel and steadily grows brighter.

The train screamed by with sparks flying off its wheels. The girl watches and waits for the train to stop. Something in the train windows caught her eye. In her reflection was a dark figure standing behind her. He was tall and forbidding, with eyes of bright red. The girl turns quickly and squeaks. "Is anything the matter?" Asks the elderly gentleman behind her. The girl smiles and sighs in relief. She shakes her head. "No, nothing at all." The man's full mustache turned up in a smile.

The train slowed to a stop and the doors slid apart. The girl walks in and takes a seat. She pulls out a small device from her pocket and a loop of earbuds. She plugged the earbuds in and slid them into her ears. At the press of a button, voices and music whispered from the buds. She closes her eyes and soon begins to tap her foot to the beat.

The old man takes a seat in the far corner, setting his suitcase down. After a few minutes, the PA clicked on and a female voice says: "welcome to Domino City Shuttle Corp, we hope your trip will be a pleasant one. Please stand away from the doors and take a seat. Next destination: Domino City Border." The doors slid closed and with a hiss sealed shut. The platform outside slowly moved away and the train enters the opposite tunnel. As the lights from the platform fade, the interior light of the train casts the elderly man's shadow onto the wall.

The shadow wasn't his own.

The shadow looked like a dark robed man. It rose, it's red eyes bright and intense as it stared down at the girl. It laughed maniacally and descended on her. A scream fills the tunnel and then goes silent.

Ω

A girl runs through the abandoned paths of a factory complex. She whimpers and pants as she runs, ignoring the pain in her legs and the burning in her lungs. Whispers filled the air, echoing off the sides of the buildings around her. With a cry, the girl trips on a power cable and falls flat on the ground. She cringes and chokes and fights to take a breath.

"You can't escape, she-human." Said the whispers.

The girl looks back and pushes herself up and onto her feet. She starts running again and her leg gives out. She falls to her knee, but rises again and limps away as fast as she can. Hot tears coursed down her cheeks and she sobs, looking around frantically for a place to hide.

"Don't run. We'll find you sooner or later. Might as well be sooner." The whispers said. A chorus of laughs mocked her as she limped faster. "Leave me alone!" She screamed.

She turned down an alley and sees a dumpster. She hides behind it and curls into herself, panting between sobs. Hearing something approaching she freezes and holds her breath. Shadows dance on the wall in front of her. The whispers were louder now, and she could hear shuffling just on the other side of the dumpster. The girl squeezes her eyes shut, desperately trying to quiet her breathing.

"I know where you're are." Whispered a voice. The girl hears something coming around the dumpster. She looks up and sees a huge shadow splayed on the wall. Looking down she notices a small window at the base of the building. She throws herself into it and rolls down into the factory basement.

She groans and picked herself up. Daring not to stop she continues running, dragging her bad leg along. She hobbles down the rows of ancient machines, skeletons of an industry. All looked like creatures reaching out to grab her. She hears the crackle of glass behind her and the whispers fill the room. She cries and makes for a metal staircase. She leans on the railing and pulls herself up.

"There you are!"

The girl bites her lip and moves faster. She can hear their feet shuffling closer. They were at the foot of the stairs now. With one last push she is able to reach the top. She scuffles to a door, which had a tilted and broken sign with "-xit" on it. She throws herself against it and pushes. To her horror, it didn't budge. She looks back at the stairs and she watches as a dark head rises from the staircase. Its pair of red eyes fix themselves on her and narrow.

The girl looks up at the door and pounds on it. "Open!" She screamed. She trembles and weeps bitterly, looking over her shoulder. A man was approaching her and others like him where stepping off the stairs and following him.

Turning back to the door, the girl threw herself against it. It squeaks weakly. With a glimpse of hope, the girl throws herself against it with all her might. The door breaks and swings open. She falls through the doorway and onto the ground. She raises her face and looks around. She is on a bridge suspended over old, rusty generators. She reaches up and grabs the rail and pulls herself onto her feet. She leans on the rail and pulls herself along.

She looks up and freezes. On the other end of the bridge were three men dressed in black cloaks. The girl shakes her head and looks back. Four men block the doorway to the factory. She sinks to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. She watches as the men step onto the bridge and approach her, gliding along the ground like black mist. Their eyes glittered from the featureless faces, staring at her like a cat eyeing its prey.

The girl cried, yet she didn't know it. She could only watch as the men came within reach, knowing the other group were right behind her. "Now or later." Whispered the one in front of her. They all laugh mockingly and the girl hangs her head weakly, her raven-black locks cover her face.

She hears the man in front of her stumble back and something slam down onto the bridge. The girl looks up and gasps. A young man stood between her and the men now. She looks back at the sound of a second thing crashing onto the bridge. It was a young woman, around the age of the man before her.

The black men's eyes flickered, obviously nervous. The first one, the leader, steps forward. "Stand aside and let us to what is ours."

The young man's shoulders shook as a chuckle filtered through the crimson red cloth across his nose and mouth. The man raises his arm and the blades of his duel disk slide forward, together and then out. "No chance of that happening, my friends." The man says confidently. His companion, a fiery red head, activates her duel disk as well.

The black men looked at each other and sweep aside their cloaks and hold up their own duel disks. They all activate simultaneously.

"So it begins." The young man mutters. His eyes, an intense yellow lined with red, flash white. The black men whisper in panicked voices, looking around as a dark dome formed around them. The light from the outside filtered down as curtains, ever shifting and shimmering.

"What is this?" The girl mutters in awe.

"A Twilight Duel." The young man mutters. He and the woman draw their cards. He looks at his hand and then selects a card, holding it up for his enemies to see. "I call forth Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" A warrior in white and gold armor rises from a pool of sparks and holds his sword level with the men. The young man slips a card into a slot in his panel. "Then I set a card face-down and end my turn." He takes the top two cards from his deck and discards them. "Now the effect of my Paladin forces me to discard two cards from the top of my deck at the end of my turn."

"My turn!" The young woman declares. She looks at her cards and slaps one down on her panel. "I summon Asura Priest!" A spirit with many arms rises before her, taking a sacred pose. The woman then slips a card into a slot. "Then I'll activate Spiritual Energy Settle Machine!" A large machination rises beside her and it's dishes swivel toward her Asura Priest. "With this card, my Spirit monsters do not return to my hand at the end of my turn! All I have to do is discard a card from my hand at the end of my turn!" The woman explains. The machine fires waves at her Asura priest and he glows in a blue light. She slips another card into a slot and discards a card from her hand. "I'll set one card and end my turn as well."

The men draw their cards. They each hold up one card and declare its name in turn.

"I summon Vorse Raider!"

"Rise, my Dai Grepher!"

"I choose Raging Flame Sprite!"

"Warrior of Zera, come out!"

"I use my Skull Knight #2!"

"Come forth, Neo the Magic Swordsman!"

"I bring out my Mystic Lamp!"

The girl gasps, gazing up at the seven monsters bearing down on her defenders' monsters. "They won't make it!" She says in despair.

"Attack, our creatures!" Yells the leader.

"Not so fast!" The young woman says. She throws out her hand and a hologram of her face down card flips face-up. "I use my Negate Attack! This stops your first attack and brings the Battle Phase to an end!" The monsters stop halfway in their attack and return to their masters' sides. The girl lets out a breath and puts a hand to her heart. "That was close."

"It's not over yet!" Says the leader. He holds out a card. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Swords rain down from above and cage their monsters. The young man didn't seem phased, nor did his friend.

"We end our turn." Another black man adds.

The young man and woman draw a card from their decks. The man eyes the card he drew and looks over his shoulder at the woman. The woman catches his glance and nods with a smile.

"All right!" The man says. "I activate the card known as Fighting Spirit!" His Jain's eyes glow gold and an aura envelopes him. "This card gives my Jain 300 attack points for every monster on your side of the field." He explains. "But that means your monster's attack points are--" The leader mutters in shock. "3900." The man finishes for him.

"And that's not all!" The young woman interjects. "Since I sent Sinister Serpent to the grave, he comes back to my had - so I can keep discarding him and keep my Settle Machine can on the field." She selects a card from her hand and holds it out. "Now I activate Riryoko! This halves the attack of Jain, Lightsworn Paladin and adds the other half to my monster!"Jain's aura snakes across the ground and swallows up Asura Priest. His attack lowers to 1950, but Asura Priest's attack increases to 3750.

"It's pointless! Your Riryoko's effect will end when you're finished this turn, and you still have two more turns before our Swords of Revealing Light are gone!" The leader laughs, half with relief and half with scorn.

"You haven't seen what else we have in store for you." The man says. His tone sends a chill down the girl's back. She pulls herself up onto the railing so she can get a better view. The man points to his Jain. "I now sacrifice my Lightsworn Paladin to summon my Celestia, Lightsworn Angel!" Jain evaporates into mist. From above a beautiful angel lowers from the sky and takes his place. The black men take a step back, throwing up a hand to block the light that emitted from Celestia's wings. In her hands was a javelin, which she held at ready.

"Since I sacrificed a Lightsworn monster to summon her and by discarding the top four cards of my deck, Celestia can destroy two cards on the field." He points with a cold and indifferent light in his eyes. "I choose your Swords of Revealing Light and your face down card."

"No!" The black men cry.

Celestia jabs out with her lance and strikes the swords of light before her. They shatter on contact and a wave ripples out, destroying the face down trap with it.

"Let's keep the fun going, eh bro?" The young woman says. "I use Cost Down, which allows me to summon Great Long nose to the field without a tribute! And now I attack with Asura Priest! And unfortunately for you, he has the ability to attack all your monsters at once! Go, my Priest! Wrath of the Kami!" Her Asura priest brings two hands before his chest and forms an orb of energy between them. He throws out his hands and the orb collects in his other hands. The orbs fire out beams of energy, striking down every enemy monster. The black men grasp at their chests as their life points dropped to 2150, 2050, 350, 1250, 1850, 650, and 1950.

"Why stop the fun now?" The young man says. He throws out his hand. "We still have two more monsters that can attack! Celestia, Javelin of Light!" "Great Long Nose! Attack!" His friend commands. Celestia swoops down on a black man and drags her javelin through him as she passes. The man holds his chest and chokes. A mist starts to rise off his skin. He screams as he falls to the ground and wreathes in pain. His cloak turns to dust and he goes still, all that is left is a young man dressed in a school uniform. Great Long Nose attacks another, knocking him flat on the ground. He became a normal businessman.

"What...what happened to them?" The girl asks, her eyes wide in shock.

"We are in a Twilight Duel." The young man explains. "If you lose your life points you lose your soul. Now they are no longer one of them -- their dark sides are cast out forever." The young man explains.

"This isn't over!" The leader whispers. "There's still five of us here!"

"There won't be for long." The young man retorted. He slips a card into a slot. "But I must end my turn for now, so I set two cards face down." "I set one card face down and end my turn as well." His friend adds, discarding a card to keep her Settle Machine on the field.

The black men draw their cards. One holds out a card and declares, "I activate the field spell card Mausoleum of the Emperor!" The world rippled and melted away. The duelist found themselves standing on the steps of a large shrine lit by large bonfires. "With this card," the black man went on to explain, "we can summon monsters by sacrificing 1000 life points for every monster that would be required to sacrifice in order to summon it." The young man groans and crouches down. "This isn't good." The girl mutters.

"Now we summon Monarchs Thestalos, Catus, Mobius, Kuraz and Granmarg!" The black men said in turn. From a large bonfire Thestalos rises and lands before his owner. The ground fissures and quakes as Granmarg rises from the earth with a roar. An icy win blows and swirl in one spot. From the vortex steps out Mobius. Kuraz glides along a breeze around the Mausoleum and lands with the other monarchs. From the leader's shadow rises Catus, it's eyes glowing red. Kuraz appears with a flash of light and rises from his knee.

"Behold! The monarchs!" The leader declares. "And with them come their powers! Catus allows me to remove from play one card on the field and I choose your Celestia!" "No!" The young man says. Celestia moans and shatters into fragments. "And now my Mobius destroys two spells or traps on the field." Said another black man. He points to the young man. "I choose your two face downs." The man groans as his traps vanish. The girl brings a hand to her mouth with a gasp. "He's in the open!"

"My turn! My Kuraz destroys two cards too, but I choose your Long Nose and Ausra Priest!" A black man says. The young woman's monsters vanish with a flash. "Fortunately for you, you get to draw two cards." "Thanks." The young woman huffs as she draws. "You like that? Then you'll love my Monarch's effect! Granmarg destroys one face down card. Like yours, little girl!" Said another. The young woman's card explodes and she throws up her arms. "Who you calling little?" She says.

"And last but not least, I use my Thestalos's effect. A card is selected at random from your hands, and you are each dealt with 100 life points of damage times the level of the chosen monster!" Both the young man and woman hold up their hands. "I choose the one on the right for you, and the one in the middle for you." The black man said pointing at the designated cards. They both discard one card. The young man only lost 300 life points, while the young woman lost 700.

"But we'll have to leave it at that. Because of your Long Nose, we can't attack this turn. After that, however, you will be defeated! So we end our turn with a face down card." Said the leader.

The girl sighed with a smile, placing a hand to her racing heart. "I forgot. Thank goodness."

The young man draws and then holds up the drawn card. "I activate Solar Recharge! With this card, I am allowed to draw two cards as long as I discard a Lightsworn monster from my hand and two cards from the top of my deck!" The man does this and examines his hand. He picks a cards and holds it out. "I now activate Monster Reincarnation! This brings my Jain, Lightsworn Paladin back to my hand! And now I summon him in defense mode!"His Jain appears again and kneels down, bringing his shield before him. "Then I set two cards face-down." The man adds.

"My move!" His friend says. "And I summon the Spirit Kinka-byo in defense mode!" A small cat came around from behind her leg. It purred and brushed against her before walking out onto the field. It looks up at the black men and a large shadow beast rises from its shadow. "This monster allows me to summon another level one monster from my graveyard to the field and I choose another Kinka-byo!"

"Not so fast!" The leader interrupted. "I activate the trap card By Order of the Emperor! This card negates the effect of a monster that activates when it is summoned to the field. When this happens, the owner of the monster whose effect was negated gets to draw a card." The young woman draws a card with a disgusted face. "Fine then. Now I equip my Kinka-byo with Yata Mirror!" A small mirror appeared before the cat and gleamed in the firelight. "To finish, I discard due to my Settle Machine's effect." The young woman says. "Now I discard because of my Jain's effect." The young man adds as he discards.

"Now is the time!" The leader declares as they draw in unison. "Monarchs! Attack! You first Catus!"

The young man laughs out loud. "Don't you think we would have expected that?" He throws out a hand. "Behold and regret your mistake!"

Catus throws a punch powered by darkness at his friend but it glances off an invisible barrier. "What?" The leader exclaims.

"Thank your friend over there. He picked my Necro Gardna from my hand for his Thestalos's effect. When Necro Gardna is in the graveyard when you attack, I can remove him from play to negate it!" His Necro Gardna slips out of his graveyard and he pockets it.

The young woman sighs with relief. "Thanks there, bro." She says. "It's not over yet." He answers, glancing at her. He turns his gaze back to the black men. "Far from it."

"Attack Kuraz! Take out his Paladin!" The a black man declares.

"Ha! You just set off my trap!" The young man says. A hologram of his face-down card flips face-up. "Lightsworn Barrier! With this card, if you target a Lightsworn monster, I discard two cards from the top of my deck and your attack is negated!" Kuraz bounces off a wall of light that fell before Jain.

"Fine move, but it will not save you! You're existing on bought time! Sooner or later, you will die!" The leader says grimly. "You suppose too much, my friend..." The young man says. His eyes flash for a moment. "...Too much."

The leader huffs. "Believe what you wish! Numbers don't lie! So let's subtract a few from your Life Points!" "Go Granmarg! Attack her kitten!" Says another black man. Granmag pulls back a fist and throws it down on Kinka-byo. It feebly raised the mirror and it takes the punch before shattering. "Neat, huh? My Yata Mirror protects the Spirit that its equipped to." The young woman explains.

"Not for long! Go Mobius!" Says a black man. Mobius blows on Kinka-byo. The cat freezes in place and falls over, shattering into peaces.

"Thestalos, it is your turn!" Says the last black man.

Thestalos throws up his hands and the bonfires on either side flare. Streaks of flame rise from them and descend on Jain. Jain resisted, but with a groan he explodes. The young man blocks himself with his duel disk as sparks splash on him. "Now we end our turn." The Leader says with a chuckle.

"It's hopeless." The girl says. She sniffs and wipes her eyes. "Don't fight, just leave. It's me they want. Don't risk your own lives for me."

"Are you kidding me?" The young man asks. He looks back at her. "Even if I could, wouldn't." "Me neither." The young woman adds. "We Wasters look after each other."

The girl looks up at them. She smiles a bit. "Thank you. So much."

"Can we get on with the duel? We have business to tend to." The leader says impatiently.

"Alright then. Looks like they're in a hurry to die." The young man says cheerfully as he turns his attention back to the duel. The young woman laughs. "All the more reason to step things up a bit!" The young woman draws a card. Her eyes widen and then she smiles. She winks at her partner and he nods back. She holds up the card. "I Special Summon Yamato-no-Kami!"

Lightning strikes the field before her thrice and from her shadow rises a large being. He bears over her with a snarl. She snickers. "I bet you can't wait to see his effect, but first I'll activate Rush Recklessly, making him more than a match for your Monarchs! Go, Yamato! Shadow Rush!"

Yamato-no-Kami growls and charges Thestalos. With a swipe of his claws, Thestalos shatters into pieces. The owner cringes and groans. "Now his ability activates." The young woman says.

"No it doesn't! Not with our By Order of the Emperor on the field!" The leader says. The young man waggles a finger. "Uh-uh! For shame. Your reading comprehension leaves something to be desired. Your card states that if a monster effect activates when a monster is summoned, you can negate it and not when an effect activates during battle!" The leader stumbles back. "Gah!"

"That's right! And now my Yamato can destroy one spell or trap card on the field!" She points with a smirk. "I choose your By Order of the Emperor!" The card explodes and the young woman holds up a card. "Now I sacrifice my Yamato to summon Dark Dust Spirit!" A biting wind swirls around them as a fiendish being claws his way up through the ground. "And when he comes onto the field, all other monsters are destroyed!" The black men cry out in despair as their Monarchs vanish into the sandy winds.

"You like that?" The young man asked in a mocking tone. "Then you'll love the effect of my trap, Glorious Illusion! This card allows me to summon a Lightsworn from my graveyard! I choose my Lightsworn Paladin." His Paladin rises from a portal and twirls his sword. "Unfortunately, he won't be staying here for long." The young man holds up a card. "Jain, I sacrifice you! Come on out Gargonith, Lightsworn Dragon!" A large dragon rose from behind him with a shower of light. The young man laughs and points at the men. "This is the beginning of the end for you, my friends. This card gains 300 attack points for every unique Lightsworn in the grave." He holds up his duel disk. "There are 10 in here."

"Ten? That increases his attack points by three thousand!" The Leader says, shocked. The dragon roared as it grew in size, it's attack points rocketing to 5000. The girl pressed herself back against the railing as she stared up at it. "So powerful! It's so powerful!"

The young man chuckles darkly. He points at a black man and commands, "now attack my great beast! Iliaster Purge!" His dragon raised its head, forming an energy ball of light in its mouth. It throws down its head and unleashes the energy and bathes one of the black men in its white flames. The man cries out and falls to the ground -- a mere butcher now. The other black men didn't even seem to notice him gone.

"I set one card face down and end my turn." says the young man. "And now I must discard 3 cards from the top of my deck due to my dragon's effect." "And I discard for my Settle Machine." The young woman says.

The black men draw. They stare at their hands a long while and then one places a card on his panel. "I set one monster face down."

"And I set a face down in the spell and trap card zone." Says another.

"We end our turn." The leader says.

The young man narrows his eyes. "I don't like this at all." He thinks to himself. "Maybe they're giving up." The girl says hopefully. The young woman smiles confidently. "If that's true, then let me make it easy for them! Attack, Dark Dust Spirit!" The young man turns to her. "No! Don't!" He cries. It is too late, and Dark Dust Spirit destroys the face down card. The young man eyes the spot warily. The young woman holds her breath, eyes wide.

A large squirmy creature appears and swallows Dark Dust Spirit into its mouth. The girl brings a hand to her mouth. "What is that thing?"

"It's Jowls of Dark Demise! This creature can absorb a monster that attacks it and possesses it!" The leader says. Dark Dust Spirit remains on their side. Its veins bulge and pulse and its eyes turn red. "Not only that, but he can attack your life points directly from now on!"

The young woman sighs and looks at her friend apologetically. "I'm sorry, bro." "It's fine." He says. He looks down at his deck. "All right. It comes down to this. The card I draw now will define the end of this duel!" He thinks to himself. He lays his fingers on the top card and pulls it out. He holds it away, unable to bring himself to look at it.

"Come on, bro." The young woman said encouragingly.

"Please. You can do it. You're my only hope." The girl said, her eyes swelling with tears.

The young man looks sidelong at the card and his eyes widen and then narrow. A sudden blast of wind radiates from him and the young woman and girl are buffeted by it.

"I use Light of Redemption!" He declares, holding up the card. An orb of light slips through the top of the dome and lowers down to his hand. It becomes a card and settles in his fingers. "With this card, I can return a LIGHT monster that was removed from the game back to my hand for a mere 800 life points! And now I'll summon it! I sacrifice my Gargonith to summon Celestia, Lightworn Angel!" His dragon exploded into a shower of light, which collected and formed Celestia. Her eyes snapped open and she twirled her javelin before bringing to her side.

"I'm sure you remember her effect." The young man says. "I now destroy your Jowls-possessed Dust Spirit and your face-down card!"

"Gah!" The leader cries as his monster vanishes along with his trap. The young man's eyes become cold and intense. "Attack, Celestia..." She lowers down before another black man and stabs him through the chest with her javelin. He groans and falls, changing back into a soccer player. The young man laughs darkly. "I think you've had enough now. I end my turn."

The leader eyes what is left of his team and draws a card. He looks up at the young man and woman and stares at them. His partner steps up beside him. "I summon Luster Dragon!" The second man came up on the leader's other side. "I summon Ruby Dragon!" The leader holds up another card and declares, "now I sacrifice these two dragons to summon Emperor of Lightning!" Storm clouds fill the dome, and lightning flashes and growls. From the clouds lower an immense being. Sparks of energy jump along his arms and body. "And when this monster depletes an opponent's Life Points to 0, the whole duel is won." The leader says. He eyes the young woman. "Even if you or your friend are still alive." The young woman groans and steps back.

"Now attack her, Emperor! Lightning Devastation!"

"Oh no!" The girl cries.

The young woman braces for impact and cries out when she is hit. She stands for a moment against it, but is thrown back. She skids along the bridge and lays still.

"Kirei!" The young man exclaims. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy, bro!" The young woman said weakly. She raised her face and her lips curled into a smile. "They activated my trap!" A hologram card flips up. "Last Turn!" She says. She rises and flexes her shoulder. "This is how it works. All other cards on the field are destroyed except Celestia. Then you guys must summon a monster from your deck. That monster must attack Celestia and whichever monster wins, their owner wins the duel!" Lightning Emperor vanishes and the young man chuckles. "Nice one." He faces the black men. "Choose your monster!"

The men look through their decks and glance at each other. The leader slaps a card down onto his panel. "I summon Summoned Skull!"

Kirei and the girl gasp in horror. Kirei shakes her head slowly, tears falling unbidden down her face. She looks at the young man. "I'm so sorry, bro." She blinks back her surprise when she hears him laugh. "Ha! I'm not done so soon!" He says. He shows a card from his hand. "I activate the quick-play spell Land of Demise! When you special summon a monster, I can activate a field spell card from my deck. I choose my Light Realm!"The field changes from the Mausoleum to a city of light. They stood before the gate to the city, with towers bearing over them on either side.

"Impressive. But it won't save you!" The leader laughs.

"Indeed. When I activate my trap, however, you're going to be even more impressed! I activate the trap Destruction of Destiny. I discard three cards from the top of my deck, and I lose 1000 life points for every spell or trap." His life points drop by 1000 points. "And it's well worth the price. My Light Realm gains a Shine Counter every time a card is discarded from the top of my deck. Also, for every Shine Counter on my Light Realm, Lightsworn monsters gain an extra 100 attack points!" Three windows in one of the towers lit up.

"No! I don't believe it!" The leader said, cowering back. "Please spare me! I'll do anything!"

"Attack, Celestia!" The young man declared, pointing at their Summoned Skull. "End this!"

Celestia jabs out with her javelin and its tip explodes into light. Summoned Skull evaporates as the rays of light touch him. The three men fly back and land on their backs. Celestia and the Light Realm fade along with the dark dome around them. The young man deactivates his duel disk and lowers his arm.

Kirei sighs and goes over to him. The girl stares at him in amazement. "He's so strong. Could he be the man I'm looking for?"

"I'm so glad you're alright bro." Kirei says softly. The young man doesn't answer. He walks over to the leader, who was struggling to stay alive. He stares down at the gasping man, who stares back up in fear. He grabs the man's collar only to pull him to his feet and bring their faces together. His eyes were bright and almost feral as he hissed these words into the man's face: "who do you serve?"

The man was silent.

The young man shakes him viciously and asks, "does he have a scar?"

The man nods slowly, eyes wide in horror. The young man grips tighter. Though his voice was softer than before, it was no less dangerous. "Where is he?"

"D..." The man choked. "Domino..." He goes limp in his hand. The young man drops him and he changes back into an elderly, mustached gentleman.

"Bro?" Kirei asks softly. The young man stands there, staring down at the old man. His hand clenches into a tight, white fist. He turns to her and looks passed her and at the girl. She freezes with wide eyes. The young man closes his eyes and sighs, releasing his grip. He looks back up at her. He seemed less wrathful than before and yet there was a look of restrained anger in his eyes.

"Come with us." He says. With that he turns and walks away.

Kirei comes over and pulls the girl's arm around her shoulders. "Where are you taking me?" The girl asks nervously. Kirei flashes a wry smile. "To a refuge. It's not safe out here in the Wasteland." "Refuge?" The girl mutters. Kirei nods and starts to walk. The girl limps along, helped by her. She stares up at the man walking ahead of them.

"Please. May he be the one." She thinks to herself.


	2. The Legend

**Episode Two: The Legend**

"Where are we?" The girl asks as she gazes up at a tall building. The young man opens a rusty gate that led into a courtyard overgrown with weeds and vines. "It was once a church." The young man says without even looking up at it. He walks up the stoop and to the large double doors. He turns back to her and Kirei. "We must hurry." He says.

The girl limps over, her leg not hurting as bad as it did a few hours ago. Kirei followed her, looking around warily. The young man opens the church doors and ushers the girl in. Kirei came in next, followed by the young man. He shuts the door and brushes passed them. He strides down the center of rows of benches and stops before the altar. He reaches out and takes a candle in hand. The girl gasps as he broke it in half with a twist of his wrist. Before she could protest, the sound of grating came from the alter. On the altar, a plaque depicting a man with his hands spread out in a gesture of love and acceptance slid to the side, revealing a large hole.

"Come on." Kirei says impatiently, walking passed her. The girl limps after her, watching as the older girl vanishes into the darkness beyond the hole. The girl steps up and stands before the gaping hole stiffly. She glances up at the young man. "Move." He said sternly. She looks away timidly from his severe gaze. The girl steps in and finds that the floor inclined drastically. It must lead under ground, she realized. The girl focused and stared into the hole. Her eyes adjust to the dark and she was just able to make out Kirei's form in the shadows.

"Hurry up!" Came Kirei's voice.

The girl swallows hard and descends into the darkness. Soon the light from the entrance faded and the girl found herself in the dark. "Kirei?" The girl calls, her voice was choked with emotion. She reached out and swayed her hands. "Where are you?" A hand takes hers and pulls.

"Come on." She heard the red-head's exasperated voice ahead her. "I have no idea why you can't get it through your head. For someone who's hunted, you sure hesitate a lot!"

After a few minutes, the girl could see light at the end of the blackness. Reaching the opening, the girl rushed ahead of Kirei and steps through it. She stops and gazes around. She now stood in a long, smooth tunnel. Green lanterns hung over her head, while a long murky line of water ran along the center of the tunnel.

"Little excited, are we?" Kirei asked dryly. The girl looks up at the green lanterns and tilts her head. "Where...where are we?" "An old septic system." Came a familiar voice.

The girl wheeled about and watched as the young man stepped out of the hole. "We use these tunnels to navigate the Wasteland without being seen." He went on to explain.

"Everything okay, bro?" Kirei asked. The man nods and reached up to his face. "Yes. It seems like no one is following us or saw us come in here." He undid the knot in his scarf with one hand and peeled off the material. The girl's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as his face was exposed for the first time.

The young man eyes her and gives a thin smile. "What's your name?" He asks. "Hitomi." The girl answers softly. She gives a small, respectful bow. "Hitomi Abe."

The young man throws the scarf over the back of his neck. "Well, Hitomi, you have a choice. Along this tunnel is the entrance to the refuge, which only we know how to find. If you wish to go there, you are more than welcome to come with us. If not, then you may go your own way. This tunnel will also lead you beyond the Wasteland, and maybe you'll fare better in another city."

Hitomi looks back down the sewer tunnel and then back at him. "It's up to you." He says. "You are free to go either way." Hitomi looks down and closes her eyes. "I'll go with you. It's probably safer." "Besides," she thought to herself, "he might be there. It's at least a start."

"It's settled then." The young man said. He walks off and Kirei follows right behind. Hearing a squeak and scratching, Hitomi whimpers and hobbles after them.

They walk for what feels like hours to Hitomi. She looks around and finds that there is no way of knowing if they have actually covered any ground at all. Everything around her looked exactly the same and every now and again, they would pass a hole. "Are we going in circles?" Hitomi asks bitterly.

"No." Kirei answers flatly. Hitomi huffs and looks down at the water. She sees her reflection. Her face was pale, more than usual even for her already fair skin, and dark circles sullen her eyes. Hitomi chokes back a sob and falls to her knees. "Please. I need to rest. I've been traveling for days. Can't we just stop for a while?"

"No." The young man says.

"And why not?" Hitomi asks with a testy tone. Kirei takes a step at her and is only stopped from taking another step by the young man's arm, which barred her path. He smiles and points. "Because we are here."

Hitomi looks up with a smile, which fades as she sees what he is pointing to: a wall. "Don't tease me!" Hitomi sobs. "I'm so tired."

"I wouldn't tease you." The young man says. "Do as we do." The young man then dives into the murky water. Kirei eyes Hitomi before following suit. Hitomi rises and goes over to the spot they dived into. They never came back up, nor were there bubbles rising to the surface. Hitomi grimaces as she examines the water and sighs. "I must." She mutters. She rises to her feet and jumps in.

The muffled sounds of underwater fill Hitomi's ears. She opens her eyes and sees only brown. She couldn't even see the light from the lanterns above. She looks around and doesn't see Kirei or the young man anywhere. Her lungs burned and she felt tears forming. "Where are they?" Hitomi thinks to herself. She starts to panic and her lungs ached to let out its air. She flails and tries to swim in the direction she thinks is up. She comes to a flat surface and she runs her hands along it. "No!" She thinks. She looks up and starts to swim in another direction, hoping it would lead to the surface. She bumps into a solid object. She feels it with her hands and feels the seams of well-laid bricks. She shakes her head. "No!" She thinks in panic. She swims in another direction, moving quicker as she felt her lungs convulse.

Something grabs her ankle. A large bubble escapes her mouth as Hitomi let out a cry. It floats away as water rushes into her mouth and down her throat. She fights as she is dragged down, but the grip remained firm around her ankle. No matter how hard she kicked or paddled, she was being dragged down. Soon her movements become slow and her limbs grow heavy.

"Am I dying?" Hitomi wondered, feeling her mind going fuzzy.

The dark brown world suddenly exploded into light. She felt herself being dragged on stone to a dry patch. A dark figure leaned over her and pressed down hard on her stomach. Her lungs convulsed and she felt water come up. She turns to the side and lets it out wave after wave. Feeling slowly returns to her arms and legs, and her vision became clearer. All around her dark figures lean over her and conversed in muffled voices.

"You shouldn't have struggled." Came a voice. "It only made it harder for me to get you here."

Hitomi turns over and gazed up into the fiery eyes of the young man. He was kneeling beside her, dripping wet. "Up, kid. Get dried off." Came Kirei's voice. Looking over, she could see the young woman handing her a towel with stiff arms. Hitomi sits up and immediately begins to weep. Kirei groans with a roll of her eyes. "Give me a break...She's like an infant!"

The young man takes the towel from Kirei's hands and drapes it on Hitomi's shoulders. He then slips his hands under Hitomi's arms and pulls her to her feet. She feels him and another man put her arms across their shoulders and carry her away. He and the other man set her down on a stool in front of a fire. The other man asks a woman to start cooking some food. With one last look at Hitomi, as if comfirming she was comfortable, the young man walks off. Hitomi notices and opens her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The man looks up from the fire. "Don't. Just relax. Food is coming and we'll get you warmed up."

Hitomi nods and pulls the towel closer around herself. She shivers as hot tears fall down her cheeks. She watches the woman bring over a pot and set it over the fire. She fills it with water and throws various ingredients into it. Soon wonderful smells rose from the pot as it boiled. Hitomi's stomach growled and she stirred.

"Here." Says the woman as she offers her a bowl of soup. Hitomi looks up and smiles. "Thank you." She says with cracked voice. She spoons up some soup and takes a sip. "It's so good." She exhales in satisfaction.

"Thank you." The woman says with a cheerful smile. "Eat up. You can have as much as you want, there's more than enough food for everyone. It does worn travelers good to have something warm in their bellies."

"I haven't had a warm meal in such a long time." Hitomi said. The woman frowns. "Then you must have traveled far!" Hitomi nods. The woman sits beside her on a stone and pats her knee. "Now what would drive a young girl to travel to the Wasteland?"

Hitomi sets the bowl down on the ground beside her and pulls the towel up over her shoulders. "I'm looking for someone." "Someone dear to you?" The woman asks sympathetically. Hitomi looks up and smiles. "No." She says with a shake of her head. "I haven't even met him yet." "Oh!" The woman giggles.

Hitomi looks around. There were hundreds of people around her in what looked like a vast cavern. They all huddled together with towels and around fires like her own. The flickering flames dotted the darkness like stars in the night sky. "So many people. He has to be here." She thought to herself. She looks at the woman again. "Maybe you can help me find him."

"Sure." The woman says with a smile. "If there's something I can do for you, I will." Hitomi smiles at her. "That's very kind of you. Have you heard of a man named Yuudai? I've heard a little about him. They say he's a legendary figure in these parts and is a powerful duelist."

The woman's face creases and strains. She lets out a laugh and covers her mouth. "I'm so sorry." She says with forced restraint. "It's just that..." Hitomi tilts her head. "What? Just what?" The woman points. "You came in with him!" Hitomi looks back into a dark corner of the cavern. The woman was pointing at the young man. Hitomi's eyes widened and she looked back at the woman. "He's Yuudai? Are you sure?" She asks excitedly.

"Yes. And indeed he is a legend." The woman says. She looks around the cavern at the huddled masses of people. "You see, he brought us all here. He brought us all together and made us safe." "Understand, my child, this is no small favor." An old man nearby interjects. "Out here in the Wasteland, you'd be lucky if you live a day. Young Yuudai has a gift for dueling and has used that gift to help those who are cast out from Domino City; whether they are deemed worthless, accused or too poor. He's brought us together, gave us food and shelter, and protects us from the outside."

Hitomi looks across the cavern at Yuudai. He sat on a slab of stone with Kirei standing before him. While she spoke, he looked off to the side, deep in thought and only speaking every now and then. His eyes were intense like they were during the duel.

"Why is Yuudai here?" Hitomi asked. She looked up at the woman. "Why is he out here?" The woman shrugs. "I don't know. No one does. No one, that is, except for Kirei." Hitomi looked down at the fire.

Hitomi shakes her head. "Why? Why would a city do this? Cast out its people?" The woman sighs. "This is what most cities do. Only a rare few don't. For the last decade, strange things have been happening. Very strange things." "What strange things?" Hitomi asked. The old man came in close. So close Hitomi jumped seeing him. His face was spectral with the firelight from bellow. "Terrible things. They even say creatures have been wandering the lands. They think that's the reason why we are excluded: to keep the worthy safe."

Hitomi's eyes water. "That's-that's horrible! How could they?" "They can't save everyone." The woman says bitterly. She then smiles. "But Yuudai's taken care of us. Yuudai has protected us from danger, monster or human, and we owe him everything."

"Can I please have your attention, everyone?"

Hitomi looks up. In the center of the cavern, Yuudai jumps up onto a large rock and holds up his hands. The people crowd around him and clamor. Hitomi sees this and goes over. She jumps up and down at the back, trying to see him. She groans and slips into the crowd and pushes her way to the front. Yuudai asks once more for them to quiet down and soon the whole cavern was silent again.

"My friends, long have I served you and brought you a state of safety and content. It is unfortunate and I'm sorry to say this, but the time has come: today I leave you." Yuudai declares. Hitomi shakes her head. "No. No, he can't leave!" A gasp ripples through the crowd, soon followed by a huge uproar. People waved their fists and yelled at the top of their voices.

"Why? Why must you leave us?"

"How can you abandon us like this?"

"We need you! You're just going to leave us?"

"How could you? You're our leader!"

"Silence!" Kirei yells. "Be quiet and let Yuudai have his say!" Yuudai waits as the crowd softened to a dull murmur. "I told you in the beginning that one day I would have to leave you." Yuudai says. "And that day is today. I will not leave you with nothing, though. I have planned for this day by training good duelists to guard you and gathering enough food to last you for years."

"Who will lead us, then?"

"Who is as good a leader as you?"

"No one!"

"I'm leaving you with Kirei." Yuudai says, looking down at her. Kirei gasps and turns to him. Yuudai smiles. "I couldn't trust you to someone better." The crowd murmurs and nods, seemingly pleased with his choice. Kirei looks around with panicked eyes. She turns back to Yuudai. "No, bro!" Kirei said. "I'm not leaving your side!"

Yuudai nods to the crowd. "Think of these people. You know very well that other than me, you're the only one suited for leading them." Yuudai said. Kirei huffs and looks up at him. She met his eyes and states flatly, "I'm going." Surprisingly, Yuudai smiles and shrugs. "Fine. Then I will find another suited for the position." Yuudai jumps down and the people part as he walks at them, heading for the back of the cavern. Kirei follows close behind with her arms crossed.

"Wait!" Hitomi yells, but her voice is drowned out by the crowd's angry voices. She pushes her way through, with her eyes set firmly on Yuudai and Kirei. The people around her argued and conversed angrily. A few even glared as she passed.

Hitomi makes her way out and approaches Yuudai. "That wasn't fair, bro." She heard Kirei say. "You know I don't like surprises."

"Excuse me." Hitomi says timidly. Kirei looks down at her and smiles. "Well. Looks like our knew guest has recovered nicely." "Mr. Yuudai?" Hitomi asks, looking to him. Yuudai gazes at her sidelong. "How can I help you?" He asks. Hitomi steps closer. "Can I please speak to you? Alone?"

"I don't think Yuudai wants to right now." Kirei says. Yuudai eyes her and nods to Hitomi. "Come here." Kirei's eyes widen and then she huffs and crosses her arms. Hitomi smiles and comes over to him. He gestures to a crate and Hitomi sits on it. Yuudai looks up at Kirei and flashes a smile at her. The red-head shakes her head with a sigh and walks off.

Yuudai leans on the wall. He crosses his arms and stares down at Hitomi. She gazes down at her feet, unable to bring herself to look up in his eyes. "What did you wish to talk to me about?" Yuudai asks softly. Hitomi pulls the towel tighter about her. "I've been looking for you, Mr. Yuudai." "Yuudai is fine." He interrupts. "Yuudai," Hitomi corrects herself and continues, "I need you."

Yuudai's face creased into an amused smile. "Why?" He asks. Hitomi looks up at him and examines his face. "I've heard of you. Great stories about you have spread far. You're the only person I can look to." She looks down again. "I need your protection."

"Ah." Yuudai says, closing his eyes. He remains silent for a time and looks at the rest of the people in the cavern. "You are more than welcome to stay here. The duelists here will be able to protect you..." He looks down at the sound of weeping. Hitomi had her hands over her face and was crying miserably. She jolts with a sharp breath. "I need you, Yuudai. Only you can help me. I...I can't even duel to protect myself." She sobs. "No. No one can help me like you can. I know it! Please, Yuudai!"

Yuudai sighs and closes his eyes. Hitomi takes a shaky breath. "Please Yuudai. You're my only hope." "Why would my protection be any different?" Yuudai asks. Hitomi goes still. "Because of them." She says in a whisper, as if afraid saying it out loud might summon them from the shadows. "Because of those men you defended me from. There are more, and they are looking for me." Yuudai opens his eyes and stares hard at her. She cringes with a sob. "Please..."

Yuudai pushes himself off the wall. He reaches out and rests his hand on her head. Hitomi goes rigid at his touch. "I will think about bringing you along. It's the least I can do." He says. "Mind you, I make no promises." She sniffles and looks up at him. "Really, Yuudai? You will think about it?" Yuudai nods. She sniffs and smiles. "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me." She chokes. She wipes her eyes with her hands and mutters, "so silly of me, crying like that..." "It's fine." Yuudai says.

Hitomi rises, thanking him once more before walking off. Kirei immediately comes over to Yuudai. "What happened?" She asks. Yuudai turns and goes over to the crate. "We have a lot to talk about, my friend." He says. Kirei nods. "Indeed we do, bro. The people are getting dangerous. There is even talks of forcing you to stay."

Yuudai remains silent for a length of time. He hangs his head. "I thought it would be easier."

"We could slip out right now, bro. They aren't worth the trouble of fighting." Kirei says. Yuudai shakes his head and turns to her. "No. The ones who are not planning to force me to remain, the people who are frightened and only want safety, should not be punished Kirei." Yuudai goes over to the wall and leans on it, looking out over the people. "I'll find a good leader for _them_. It's the least I can do."

Kirei sighs and shakes her head. "I wonder how you can have such everlasting patience for these people, bro. You have so much more to fight for and lose, and yet they complain!" "I find that way of thinking presumptuous." Yuudai says, eyeing her. He nods at the people. "My problems are small compared to a father's who has a sick child, or that of a man with a missing loved one." Yuudai looks down and closes his eyes. "All I have to lose is my life."

Kirei's eyes soften. "Bro..." She says. She flinches seeing a group of men approaching them. Kirei steps forward. "Whoa, there! Where are you going?" She says affectedly, eyeing Yuudai. Yuudai gazes passed his bangs at them.

"Mr. Chiyo?" Says a man. Yuudai looks up and pretends to be surprised. "Oh, hello there." He pinches the ridge of his nose and squints his eyes. "Forgive me. How may I help you gentlemen?" The man eyes his friends before speaking again. "We, that is the patriarchs of the families, have been talking. Understand this is not out of disrespect, but out of concern for our loved ones. We have all decided to band together and keep you from leaving."

Kirei's eyes harden and she sneers. "And how do you plan to do that?" One of the men look at her and smirks. "Shut up! We aren't talking to you!" "Well now you are! And if you like that skin you're wearing, you better listen up! Anyone who threatens Yuudai will have to deal with me!" Kirei says through her teeth. "I don't care how many of you there are!" "This doesn't concern you, Kirei!" Says a man. "This is about Yuudai!" "Anything that has to do with Yuudai has to do with me. Period." Kirei refutes. One of the men look up at Yuudai. "Do you always let Kirei talk for you, Chiyo?" Yuudai gazes down at him. His face was cold and indifferent. The man swallowed hard. "Well?"

Yuudai shakes his head as he gives a thin smile. "No." He shrugs off the wall and takes his place before them. He set his gaze upon them. "It's just that you might not like what I have to say." He says darkly. The men step back with a gasp. Each one of them would have sworn in that moment they had seen a light deep within his eyes. Yuudai comes closer, one step at a time. For each step, the men fell back an inch. "This is what I have to say: I will fight any one that feels as this man has alleged. In fact, I will fight all of them at the same time."

The men back away and eye each other nervously. The refugees seemed to have amassed out of the shadows, crowding around and watching the two sides. All was silent, and Yuudai met each of the men's eyes. None could stare back. "Well?" Yuudai asks flatly. "Any of you willing to back your threat?" The men gazed down at their feet. None answered or even spoke.

"I will fight!"

Yuudai looks up and sees a man make his way through the crowd. He raises his duel disk. "I will fight you." Yuudai chuckles and runs his thumb along his upper lip. "Then I will keep my threat." He met the man's eyes and though he flinched, he remained firm and locked eyes with him. Yuudai smiles. "We will duel."

"Don't bro." Kirei says, stepping down. "You don't have to prove yourself to them!" "You're right." Yuudai says. Kirei blinks in surprise. He looks at her. "I'm not proving myself..." He pointed at his opponent. "...I'm proving him! I'm proving to all of you that he is worthy of being your new leader!"

Everyone gasps, even Kirei. The man stutters and swallows hard. "M-m-me? You really mean it, sir?" He asks. Yuudai nods. "I see strength in your eyes. Courage and character pulse in your veins. You are perfect for replacing me. And through this duel I will prove it to the people that you are the right choice!" He raises his arm over his head and his duel disk activates. He brings it down and draws five cards. "Let's duel!"

The man activates his duel disk as well. Yuudai extends an open hand. "Since you are the challenger, you can go first." The man draws a card and looks at his hand. He sets a card. "I summon a monster in face-down defense mode!" A hologram of a face-down card appears on the field. "I end my turn."

Yuudai draws and looks at his hand. "I set one card face down and summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" His Paladin appears and yells, holding his sword aloft. Yuudai points. "Now attack his face-down monster!" He declares. Kirei's eyes widen. "Why would he make such an amateur move?" She thinks. Jain dashes at the face-down monster and slices it. The hologram becomes a small grotesque lizard. It growls and gurgles before shattering.

"You've just destroyed my Electric Lizard!" The man says. "Oh no..." Kirei moans. She notices that Yuudai is smiling. She smiles as well and crosses her arms. The man points. "Since you destroyed him, your monster is paralyzed and cannot attack for two turns!" A spark runs down Jain's sword and into his hand. He stands rigid and a groan. Yuudai discards two cards from the top of his deck and lowers his duel disk. "I end my turn, then."

The man draws. "I summon Marauding Captain!" A man in armor wielding two sword appears on the field. He crosses the blades and crouches. "My Captain allows me to special summon another level 4 or lower monster from my hand to the field! And I choose my Mataza the Zapper!" A samurai in armor rises beside the man's Marauding Captain and holds its katana level with Jain. "I set one card and end my turn!" The man says, smiling confidently.

Hitomi pushes her way through the people and gasps seeing Yuudai. "Yuudai!" She exclaims. "What's going on?" Yuudai eyes her and turns his attention back to the duel. He draws a card and looks at it. He holds it up for the man to see. "I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress!" Lyla rises beside Jain with a shower of sparks. She sweeps her bangs to the side, sending glittering lights into the air. "Go! Wipe out his Zapper!" Yuudai says, throwing out a hand.

"Not so fast!" The man declares. "You've activated my trap!" A hologram of his card flips up. "Gravity Bind! Now all monsters of level four or higher cannot attack!" A blast of wind radiated out from the field and Lyla went stiff. She strained and fell to her knees, as did Jain. A gasp rose from the crowd and the people whispered to each other in fascination. "I end my turn, then. And I discard five cards from the top of my deck due to the effects of my Lightsworns."

The man draws a card. He looks at his hand and picks one card. "I activate The A. Forces!" Yuudai's eyes widen and he gives an amused smile. The man slips the card into a slot. "With this card, all my warriors gain 200 attack points for every other warrior and spellcaster on my side of the field. I now summon Hayabusa Knight." The man smiles as his monsters begin to glow. "I have three warriors on the field now, and they each gain 600 attack points!" The crowd cheers and calls his name, yelling their support. The man looks around and back at Yuudai, his eyes filled with glee. He throws out his hand. "And I think I'll have them attack!"

"You've fought well." Yuudai says as the man's monsters descended on him. His eyes flash. "But it's time to turn the tables." He throws out a hand. "I activate the trap card Radiant Mirror Force!" A barrier rises and the monsters strike it. A ripple travels along the outside of the barrier and reflects the attacks back at the monsters, destroying them. The man covers his face with a raised arm. "My turn isn't over yet!" Isao says. "I activate Dark Hole! This clears the field completely!" A void opens and sucks all of Yuudai's monsters into it.

"Oh, no!" Hitomi cries. "Oh, yes." Yuudai thinks as he draws a card. "I must say, I expecting things to be different. However, things will on get better. The tables have turned, and you will lose. For now, I will set one monster face-down and set another two cards. With that, I end my turn."

"He's bluffin', Isao!" Says an onlooker.

"You've got him on the defensive! Keep pounding away at him!" Says another.

Isao nods and picks a card from his hand. "I summon the Oppressed People!" A group of abject and sullen people appeared on the field. They eyed Yuudai with feral eyes. "Then I use the spell card Sword and Shield! This makes my monster's attack points its defense points and vice versa!"

"But their defense points are 2000!" Hitomi says in shock. "Now its attack points are 2000!" Isao says. "Attack Yuudai's face-down monster!" The group of people charged, wielding farming equipment as weapons. Kirei smiles. "Let's see if he's really bluffing." She says darkly.

The face-down monster reveals itself. It was a pure white wolf with gold-rimmed armor. The people slash it and hit it with their weapons. With a wine it shatters. Yuudai laughs and throws out a hand. "You've just destroyed my Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter! And now his effect activates! I discard three cards from the top of my deck and it destroys one card on the field! I choose your Gravity Bind!"

Isao gasps and watches as Ryko's shattered remains gather together. They create a glowing arrow. "Go, Ryko! Arrow of Atonement!" The arrow darted on its own and pierced the Gravity Bind hologram, shattering it. Isao groans and sets two cards. "I end my turn."

Yuudai draws. He looks at the card and smiles. "I set one card. Then I activate the magic of Monster Reincarnation! I bring my Jain back to my hand by discarding another card from my hand. And now I will summon him! Come on out, Jain!" His Paladin rises before him with sparks of light. "And now I activate the spell card Different Dimension Capsule!" A stone sarcophagus rises beside Yuudai. "I remove a card in my deck from play and in two turns it comes to my hand." Yuudai smiles and his eyes flash. "I'll make you a bet. I'm feel like gambling with you, if you're willing to wager."

"I'm listening." Isao said. Yuudai chuckles. "I bet you that I can finish this duel by the time my Capsule's effect comes to a close."

Kirei staggers and throws down her hands. "Bro! What are you doing?" She exclaims. Hitomi brings her hands to her mouth. "He's crazy!" "What do I get if I agree?" Isao asks. Yuudai flicks the hair from his face with a nod. "I will remain your leader for as long as you wish if I fail. When I succeed, I leave without hinderance."

Isao looks at the other men. They all nod. Isao turns back to Yuudai. "I agree then! two turns!" He laughs confidently. "You're betting the whole game on one card, then? You must think it's powerful." Isao says. Yuudai nods. "I trust in it and my deck so completely that I will even end this turn right now."

"Good!" Isao says as he draws. "I summon Panther Warrior! In order for him to attack, I sacrifice my Oppressed People!" The group vanishes and Panther Warrior screams. "Attack his Lightsworn Paladin!" Isao orders. The panther hisses and leaps, coming down with its sword raised over its head.

"I activate Draining Shield!" Yuudai declares. He raises his arm and catches the Panther's redirected attack with his duel disk. His Life Points rise by 2000. "With it, your attack is turned from damage into Life Points instead."

"Yeah! Way to go, Yuudai!" Hitomi cheers. Her voice echoes and fills the silence. She sheepishly meets the eyes of the other spectators and curls into herself. Isao sighs. "I end my turn."

Yuudai draws a card and without even looking at it throws out a hand. "I activate the trap Glorious Illusion! This allows me to summon a Lightsworn Monster from my Graveyard! I choose the one, the only, Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner!" A young woman with boy-cut blonde hair rises from a portal of light and flourishes her hands, which glowed with energy.

"Her effect allows me to summon another Lightsworn from the grave if I discard a card from my hand. I choose Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress!" Yuudai says. His magician rises beside Lumina and holds her mace at ready. Yuudai holds up the card he drew. "Now I summon to the field Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior!" A large man dressed in heavy armor and wielding a huge ax appears with a grunt.

"Now I have them all attack you! Go Jain, Swift Shining Justice!" Yuudai declares. A band of light travel over Jain's sword and he charges. "But my monster's attack points are higher!" Isao objects. Yuudai chuckles. "True for right now, but my Jain's special ability allows him to gain 300 attack points during battle. Making him more than a match for your Panther!"

Isao cries out as Jain slashes Panther Warrior down and his life points take a hit. Yuudai points to his Garoth. "The fun only continues from here on out! Go, my warrior! Crushing Retribution!" Isao gasps and holds his stomach as Garoth slashes him. "Now you go, Lumina! Incandescent Surge!" Lumina throws out her hands and a band of light strikes Isao and knocks him down. His life points stop at 1150.

Isao groans as he picks himself up. "I use emergency provisions! I gain 1000 Life Points for every magic or trap card I sacrifice." His face down evaporates and the mist swirls around him. His life points rise by 1000.

"That makes it enough to survive Lyla's attack." Yuudai says. He inclines his face so his bangs shadow his face. "But that doesn't mean I won't attack anyway. Go, Lyla!" Lyla jabs out her mace and a ripple shakes the air. Isao groans as his life points fall to 450.

"I end my turn." Yuudai says. "And in response to my Lightsworns' effects, I activate the trap card Light Spiral. Now every time I discard a card from the top of my deck due to a Lightsworn's effect, you must remove from play the same number from the top of your deck!"

"That's 10 cards!" Isao groaned. Yuudai nods. "Not only that, but my Garoth forces me to discard twice that as well and draw for every Lightsworn monster discarded by his effect." "30?" Isao cried in dismay. Yuudai smiles mockingly as he discards 30 to the grave and draws five. Isao discards 30 as well before drawing for the beginning of his turn.

"I use Red Medicine to raise my life points by 500! And then I use Paralyzing Potion! I use it to freeze your Jain!" A vile appears before Jain. He takes it and drinks it. He turns to stone the moment the neon liquid touched his lips. "Now I use Silent Doom and resurrect my Mystical Elf in defense mode." Isao slips a card into a slot on his duel disk. "I set a card and end my turn. Let's see if you can keep your word, Yuudai."

Yuudai reaches to draw. "Yuudai!" Hitomi shouts. He looks at her. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Maybe...maybe you shouldn't do it this way. Maybe there's another way!" She says. Yuudai gives her a cool smile. "Thank you, Hitomi. But don't worry about me. I will do it." He turns back to Isao. "Right now!" He declares as he draws. He points with the card at his Capsule. "My Different Dimension Capsule resolves, giving me the card I removed from play!" The sarcophagus crumbles and a light rises from the pile of rubble and becomes a card in his hand. Yuudai picks it and holds it up. "I sacrifice Lyla to summon my Celestia, Lightsworn Angel!"

Isao backs away. "No! Not that card!" "Yes, that card!" Yuudai says with a cool smile. "And you know her effect! I destroy two cards on the field! In this case: your Elf and your face-down card!" He discards four cards from the top of his deck. "To do this, I must discard from the top of my deck. This means you must too. Also, my Garoth doubles it, forcing us to discard a total of 12 cards!"

The two cards on the field shatter and Isao discards from the top of his deck. "Well. Go ahead. Attack me." Isao said dejectedly.

"No." Yuudai says. "I'll just end my turn. And with that, I must discard 7 cards from the top of my deck plus 14 due to my Garoth. And with Light Spiral still in play, you must too."

Isao discards, eyes wide in shock. "You end your turn? Then I've won the bet! I've won!" He says excitedly. Yuudai wags a finger. "I'd look at my deck if I were you!" Isao does and his breath catches in his throat. He reaches to draw and there isn't a card to draw. He tries again in disbelief.

"It seems..." Yuudai says casually as he runs a finger along his upper lip. "...by the rules of duel monsters, I have won." Hitomi cheers loudly, throwing her hands in the air. "Way to go, Yuudai! You did it!" Kirei even smiled. "Good one, bro." She said.

Yuudai approaches Isao, who still looked at his duel disk. "Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say: lead these people well." Isao looks up at him and away. "No. I'm no leader. I lost." Yuudai smirks. "You think being a leader means winning all the time?"

Isao looks up at him. Yuudai gestures out. "Tell me what you see, Isao. Look around you." Isao does and gazes at the faces of the refugees."All these people don't need a winner. They need someone they know will serve them and protect them even if it means he will lose." With these words in his ears, Isao peers into the eyes of all the people. He could see their sadness and hopes, all of which he shared in his heart. "They need a man like you." Yuudai said. "You stood up and faced me even though you knew I was powerful." He put a hand on Isao's shoulder. The man turns back to him and meets his eyes. Yuudai nods. "That's the kind of leader they need to protect them."

The people murmured and the group of patriarchs come over. "Yuudai speaks true, Isao." The leader said. He looked around at the others who nodded. He extends a hand. "Will you lead us?"

Isao looks down at his hand and back up at their eyes. He looks to Yuudai, who nods. Isao takes the offered hand and shakes it. All the people cheer and crowd around him, chanting his name.

Yuudai slips out of the crowd. He looks up at Kirei and nods his head to the exit. She nods and runs with him around the refugees, who were taking turns congratulating their new leader. Hitomi sees them and struggles against the crowd. "Wait!" She cried, but it was futile -- they couldn't hear her.

Outside in the sewer Yuudai's head pops up out of the water, followed by Kirei's head. They both pull themselves up onto the path. "That was quick thinking, bro." Kirei says, sitting on the edge and wringing out her skirt. Yuudai chuckles shaking out his hair. "I guess you can say that. Come on, let's get out of here. We have a score to settle." Yuudai offers a hand to Kirei, which she accepts, and he pulls her to her feet. They both walk off down the tunnel, unaware that something is rising from the water.

Kirei tilts her head off to the side. She focuses her eyes and taps Yuudai's hand secretly. "I know." Yuudai whispers. Kirei, turning her face straight ahead, asks, "who do you think it is?" "I have an idea." Yuudai says. "Just keep walking." "I don't like the thought of someone sneaking up on us, bro." Kirei huffs. "Trust me, Kirei." Yuudai said with a wry smile. Kirei nods and smiles at him.

They stop before rows of metal bars protruding from the sewer wall, which led into a dark hole in the ceiling. Kirei climbed up first, followed by Yuudai. They climb up through the hole. As they climb, Kirei counts the number of rungs.

"Forty-eight...forty-nine...fifty." She says and stops. She reaches up and her hand touches a metal barrier. She pushes up with a grunt. Nothing happens. Yuudai climbs up beside her nimbly. "Let me help." He says. They both push and the barrier gives. They slide it to the side and light pours into the hole. Yuudai nods for Kirei to go first and she pulls herself up and out of the hole and onto the street outside. Yuudai comes out as Kirei eyes their surroundings. Kirei then goes to close the hole up again when Yuudai tells her to stop.

"Why, bro?" She asks. Yuudai smiles. "I want to give our friend a surprise." Kirei makes a confused face and then shrugs. Yuudai jogs around the corner and waits there while Kirei hides behind a turned-over car. Yuudai peers around the corner, waiting. He didn't have to wait long. Soon a dark figure pulls itself out of the hole and dusts off its clothing. Yuudai sighs and shakes his head. "Hitomi." He mutters. He waits for her to turn her back before stepping out.

Hitomi looks all around, peering as far as she could down the street. "Where could they have gone?" She says. "They couldn't have vanished!" She hears a shoe scuff the ground behind her and she goes to turn. She stops feeling a cool edge of metal lay across her throat. Hitomi freezes, as not to tempt the wielder of the blade to use it. Tears form in her eyes, unable to hold in a whimper despite the circumstance.

"Did you honestly think you sneak up on us that easily?"

Hitomi's eyes widen. "Yu-Yuudai?" She murmurs. She turns her face slowly and finds herself face to face with Yuudai. His face was in a terrible scowl and his eyes were wild like fire. Hitomi trembles at the sight, eyes wide in horror. He kept his eyes locked firmly on hers. "Well?" He breathes. Hitomi bites her bottom lip and slowly shakes her head. "I didn't mean any harm." She whispers. Hitomi felt the blade lower from her throat. She stumbles away and turns to him, clutching at her throat.

Kirei comes out from behind a wreaked car. "The kid has spunk, bro. I like that. Not many girls have that kind of nerve." She says with a smile. "Indeed, she has nerve." Yuudai says as he deactivates his duel disk. His face was calm again as were his eyes, but he continued to stare directly into her eyes.

"You know very well that if I were a desperate criminal you would be dead, right? You never seem to learn." He merely said. "I do what I must. You don't seem to understand how serious I am." She says with tears falling down her cheeks. "How desperate." He narrows his gaze. "Is that why you followed us?" He asks. Hitomi runs a hand across her eyes. "Yes. I'm going with you." She says with a hint of defiance. "As I told you before, I need your protection."

"You would be perfectly safe with the new refuge leader." Yuudai says. Hitomi looks up at him. There was a cool clearness to her eyes. Yuudai could even see a hint of violet in her eyes -- a feature he had not noticed before. "I know you held back a bit so that Isao's potential would be apparent, but he is a far cry from being you." She frowns. "You know that, don't you?"

Yuudai, for the first time, genuinely smiles. He gives an amused laugh and sticks his thumb under his chin thoughtfully. "Alright, I stretched the truth a bit." His eyes glitter for a moment. "But I wouldn't have, and haven't, left them in danger. There are twenty good duelists to support Isao." His smile turns crooked. "For someone who doesn't duel you seem to know a lot."

Hitomi's face flushes and looks away, gripping her dress. Kirei looks from Hitomi to Yuudai and back. "I've never seen anyone match wits like this with bro before." She thinks in amazement. Yuudai shrugs with his hands upturned in futility. "Alright, you may tag along with us." Kirei flinches and turns to Yuudai. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You can't be serious!" Kirei objects. Yuudai glances at her. "I am."

Hitomi looks back at him. She clasps her hands as her eyes fill with tears again. "Really? You mean that?" Yuudai nods. She cringes, holding in her joy and sobs. "Oh, thank you Yuudai! So much!" She says, her voice shrilled. Yuudai reaches into his coat and pulls out his crimson cloth. Hitomi watches as he puts it on his face and ties it at the back. "Sure." He says.

He stares up at the horizon. "We should get started for Domino City." He looks back down at Hitomi. This time, his eyes didn't glitter or gleam. In fact, he was very calm and plain when he stated: "if you are indeed coming with us Hitomi Abe, you will follow my instructions without question. Understand?"

"I do. I promise I will obey you, Yuudai." Hitomi says with a bow of her head. Yuudai grunts and walks off. Hitomi and Kirei run after him. Kirei catches up with him and walks at his side. "How do you plan on getting into the city, bro?" She asks. "We need seven keys to pass through the barrier around the city." Yuudai says. Kirei sighs. "Seven keys? Where would we find them?"

"Law enforcement or hired men leaving Domino are given special keys, which they split amongst themselves so if someone from the outside wanted to steal them, they would have to fight all seven men who hold the keys. Of course, one would have to find them men holding them." Kirei gazes up at Yuudai. She smiles craftily. "You know where to find one, don't you?" Yuudai nods. "All it requires is paying an old friend a visit."

"Why don't we just ask to be let in or apply for citizenship?" Hitomi asks. "They'd let us in then, right?" Both Kirei and Yuudai look at her. "That's not how it works." Yuudai says flatly. "Besides," Kirei adds, "we aren't exactly on good terms with the law." Hitomi gasps and looks at the both of them through different eyes. "Why?"

Yuudai looks down and closes his eyes. "Because that's how it ended up." Hitomi furrows her eyebrows as she stares at Yuudai. She then looks away and up at the buildings. "Why are we going to Domino anyway?" She asks. Yuudai's fist clenches. Kirei seemed worried as she stared at Yuudai and looks back at Hitomi. "He has a score to settle with someone in there."

Hitomi looks at Yuudai. His whole body was tense with restrained anger. Though his gaze was focused on the horizon, his eyes were filled with wrath. Hitomi shivers. "I'd hate to be the one on Yuudai's bad side!" Hitomi thinks to herself.

They come to the edge of the desolate city. There, just beyond the rise of a hill, a light shone like the glow of dawn. Reaching the top, Yuudai and Kirei stopped. Hitomi came up between them only to stumble to halt and gaze in awe. She points ahead with a porcelain hand. "Is...is that--?" "Yes." Yuudai says. "That is Neo Domino City."


	3. A Bet of Faith Part I

**Episode Three: A Bet of Faith (Part I)**

Outside an abandoned gas station, Kirei leans on the side of a telephone booth. She listens to Yuudai as he talks on the phone. Next to her, Hitomi stares at Yuudai through the glass. She looks up at Kirei. "Who is he talking to?" She asks. "One of the Watchtower Guards." Kirei says without opening her eyes.

"It's good to hear that your family's doing well." Yuudai said pleasantly. "Despite your low income." A low and hoarse voice buzzes in the earpiece. "That they are. Tell me, how's Waster-life treating you? I heard there's not much food out there. It must be hard living for criminals." "It's done me fine. It instilled a little reality into me. You and your buddies should join me sometime. I'd be glad to give them a taste of reality." Yuudai says. The kind and friendly tone in Yuudai's voice caused Hitomi's skin to break out with bumps. He smiles and she can see his pearly, gritted teeth. It was more like a snarl than a smile.

"And Kirei, how's she? She still happy to be with you?" Says the voice. Kirei flinches and her jaw locks grimly. "Tell her she still has a chance at amnesty. Unlike you." Yuudai gives a light-hearted chuckle. "She said you're too kind, but she must decline. A janitor is the last person she wants to discuss the matter of a pardon with." Kirei smiles and looks back at Yuudai. He met her glance and winks. "I see." Says the voice. "She still loyal to you, eh? Pity. She has such a good chance." "Well, we all blow things now and then. You would know about that, wouldn't you?" Yuudai replies. He chuckles scornfully. "Well, enough idle conversation. I must admit I have a hidden agenda." There came a grunt from the phone. "Ugh. Still looking to play games with me, eh?"

Yuudai nods as if the man could see. "I do." "Look, you've made a fool of me for long enough!" The voice says. "Those last two stunts you pulled gave me a four rank demotion! Not to mention it made me the laughing stock on the force! No more bets!" The voice says gruffly. Yuudai leans forward on the booth window. "You might like to hear my proposal. I'm feeling somewhat generous and I'm willing to make a high stake. A stake your superiors and former employees might jump at in a heartbeat."

There was no answer for a long time from the man on the other end of the phone. Kirei drums her fingers, squinting her eyes shut. Hitomi watches Yuudai, who was somehow able to stare unblinkingly at the pay box the whole time. She bites down on her lip and squints her eyes shut. A grumble buzzed from the phone. "I'm listening, Chiyo."

Hitomi and Kirei both let out a sigh of relief. Yuudai smiles. "Alright then. Here's the gist: I'm in the market for a keypass. Of course I am aware that to gain things of value, I must be willing to give up something of equal value." Yuudai says. "That would be?" The voice replies impatiently. "Perhaps the location of the refugee camp would entice you?" Yuudai says.

Hitomi's breath catches in her throat. "Did he just--?" Hitomi exclaims. Even Kirei flinched and opened her eyes. She turned to the booth. "Bro." She says with concern.

"You on the level, Chiyo?" The voice asks, a hint of excitement was apparent. "You bet I am." Yuudai says. "You should know by now I keep my promises." "I also know you do the very least you can do when you say you'll do something. And I mean the least. So how will I know you will tell me what I want to know and not something that fits your promise?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea, bro?" Kirei asks. Yuudai ignores her and continues. "How's this then: I promise to tell you the exact location of the refugee camp. Every path, entrance and passage that leads to it and the secret entrance itself."

Hitomi shakes her head slowly in disbelief. She looks to Kirei, but the red-head didn't seem as upset as she was. The voice on the phone grunted and wheezed -- obviously a laugh. "You've got a deal, Yuudai." The man says. "Where would you like to meet?"

"In sector 1-14-A." Yuudai says. "On the top of the parking garage at noon. Be sure you're alone." "Agreed. I'll be there." The voice says, followed a by a click. Yuudai hangs up the phone and slides the booth door open. He steps out and stops abruptly. Hitomi stood before him, glaring up at him with her hands clenched at her sides. "How could you?" She yells. "You put those innocent people in danger! You put them in danger just to get what you want!"

Yuudai meets her glare with a cool gaze. "I do what I must." Yuudai says. Hitomi's chin quivered. "You didn't have to make a bet like that!" Yuudai sighs, almost as though in exasperation. "Out here, you have to be willing to risk everything. If you aren't, then you will most certainly lose everything." He replies. Hitomi shook uncontrollably. She bore her glare even deeper into his eyes. "But they aren't yours to bet." She says.

Yuudai reached into his pocket and pulls out his cloth. He wraps it over his face and ties it at the back of his head. With one last look at Hitomi he walks around her. "Come on." He says flatly. "It's no longer safe here." Kirei goes to follow and turns back to Hitomi. She still stood there, hands shaking in rage. "Come on." Kirei said.

Hitomi remained silent. She takes a shaky breath and wipes her eyes before turning to Kirei. "How could he? How could he do that? If he loses...all those people..." Hitomi says softly. Kirei flashes a grin. "There's something you need to learn about Yuudai. Though you might not understand his motives in the moment, it all turns out well in the end."

"I don't know." Hitomi says, looking down and away. Kirei chuckles and crosses her arms. "Trust me. I've been with Yuudai for a long time. He's never led me or those refugees astray." Hitomi sighs and nods. "Alright." She follows Kirei as she jogs after Yuudai. He waited some distance away, a dark figure in the morning mist.

"We shouldn't linger here." He says to them once they catch up. "Since I've used that phone, it is possible he would have this sector searched." "What do we do, then?" Hitomi asks. Yuudai looks off into the distance. On the horizon the tops of towers floated over the mist. "We leave this sector and secure a spot on top of one of those buildings in sector 1-20-A. There you two will be safe."

Hitomi jumps visibly. "What do you mean? Aren't you coming with us?" Yuudai shakes his head. "No. I am not. Remember that part of the deal was to come alone. I intend to. Kuro, on the other hand, might not be so honorable. So I'm going to the battlegrounds early and keep an eye on it."

Hitomi nods and looks down. Yuudai turns to Kirei. "Take care of our new friend. She's new to the ways of the Wasteland." He says. He turns to walk away, but stops and looks back at her. "And take care of yourself, my friend."

Kirei smiles and gives a thumb's up. "You got it, bro." He nods and walks off, soon fading from sight in the thick mist. Kirei sighs and looks at Hitomi. "Let's get going. We have a long walk before we get to sector 1-20-A."

Hitomi nods without so much as looking at her. Kirei purses her lips. "Alrighty then. Now that we are raring to go." She walks off toward the buildings. Hitomi follows obediently. As she walks, her gaze remains on the ground before her.

Time, and the journey to the city, passes quickly with neither of the girls talking. They enter the city by noon. The sunlight could barely penetrate the green smog that clouded the sky, casting an eerie light over the city. Kirei stops in the middle of an intersection. She looks around at the buildings around her, muttering. Hitomi waits, not bothering to look at the buildings. She ran a hand across her eyes.

"Let's see. The last time Yuudai took me here, he went..." She turns around in circles, staring up at each building. She looks at one of the buildings and stops. "...In there." She walks toward the building, but stops and looks back at Hitomi. She huffs. "Well come on! Do I need to make a leash?" Hitomi looks up and follows wordlessly. Kirei leads her inside through the broken glass doors and down a hall, which led into a huge lobby. The lobby floors were a nice green and white marble, which surprisingly were in good shape. Dust-covered reception desks were on either side of them, still covered in papers and pens.

"This is one of my favorite places." Kirei says. "It must have been beautiful in its prime." She stops in the middle of the lobby and looks up. Seeing her, Hitomi looks up and she gasps. Above her head is a tall chasm. Stairs lined its sides, spiraling all the way to the distant top. Hitomi stumbles backwards and Kirei laughs. "That was my reaction too." She says.

"Does it go all the way to the top of the building?" Hitomi asks breathlessly. Kirei nods. "All the way to a skylight. You should see what it looks like looking down through it." "I'll pass." Hitomi says, holding her stomach. Kirei walks over to the beginning of the staircase and Hitomi calls to her. "We aren't really going to walk all the way up those, are we?" Hitomi asks. Kirei raises an eyebrow. "How else would you suggest we go up?" She asks dryly.

Hitomi looks around. "How about those?" She asks, pointing to two elevator doors. Kirei laughs without looking to where she pointed. "You kidding? Those things are like this building -- old and falling apart. If you want to die, then by all means you use them!" With that, Kirei starts to ascend the stairs. Hitomi looks at the elevators and at the stairs. She sighs and runs after Kirei.

As they climb up, the lobby bellow vanishes into shadow. Neither the roof nor the ground could be seen. Hitomi looks over the side of the railing at the empty abyss and her knees buckle. "How much further?" She moans. "We have much more walking to do." Kirei looks back at her. "Don't you dare start complaining. That's the one thing I can't stand." "The one thing?" Hitomi mutters.

They walk higher and higher along the staircase. Soon, Hitomi could see light filtering down from above. She smiles. "We're almost there." She sighs happily. Reaching the top, Hitomi sags against a column and onto the floor, panting wearily. Hitomi presses on the pain in her side and tries to calm her breathing. Kirei stood over by the railing, looking down at the chasm. "Not much, kid, but it's our home away from home." Kirei says. At the lack of response, she asks, "you okay, kid?"

"Uh-huh." Hitomi says, but she didn't mean it. She looks around at her surroundings: an empty and dilapidated building. She thought about her situation: hunted by evil men and was now hiding from the law. "This is not what I hoped for." She thought to herself. She looked back to the day she heard of Yuudai. She was sitting in a bus stop, huddling in the corner as rain pounded the booth. She listened to two schoolboys as they talked about a great duelist and how he took care of people and protected them. She imagined a heroic figure. She imagined a magnificent and selfless man, dedicating his life to others. She hoped that if she found him he would protect her and keep her safe, never having to travel or worry about being hunted. She closes her eyes and tears leak out. "I wanted better."

Kirei turns from the railing and looks at Hitomi. With furrowed eyebrows she examined Hitomi's face. The girl had slipped off to sleep. Kirei shakes her head. "Poor kid. She _must_ be tired!" She says.

Kirei goes about picking up wood debris and piles it in one spot. She kneels beside the pile and pulls something out of her pocket. It was a silver lighter. She flicks its flint and a flame hisses to life. Kirei touched the flame to the wood and put the lighter away. Soon, the fire spread and she had a roaring fire. With a sigh of satisfaction she sits and crosses her legs. She slips her backpack off and pulls out two cans and sets them near the flames.

She looks up at Hitomi. The girl flinched and shook. Sweat poured down her face as she whimpered. "Hitomi?" She asks with concern. "Hey, you okay kid?" Hitomi continues to writhe. Her face contorts in pain. "No!" She moans. "No! Don't!" Kirei rises and goes over. "Wake up, kid! Wake up!" She says, shaking her shoulder.

Hitomi opens her eyes and looks around in panic. Panting, she looks at Kirei. "Huh?" She says. "You were crying and talking in your sleep." Kirei says. "Are you okay?" "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." She says as she hurriedly wiped her eyes. "I must have fallen asleep." "Sleep? Looked more like thrashing to me." Kirei says. Hitomi sniffs. "I had a nightmare, that's all. Just drop it."

Kirei raises an eyebrow. "Fine by me." She says. She walks over to the fire and sits. Hitomi rubs a fist in her eye and gets up. She sits on the opposite side of the fire from Kirei. She stares at the flames. Her eyes water and she looks away from it.

"Ah! They're done!" Kirei says. She carefully nudges them away from the fire and slides one to Hitomi with a pair of chopsticks. "Eat up. It's no banquet, but it will fill your stomach." Kirei says as she pops open the top of her can. Hitomi opens hers as well. The smell of curry rose from the can. Her stomach gives a hollow growl. She sticks her chopsticks into the warm can of food and brings a piece of meat to her mouth. "Mm." Hitomi moans.

Kirei only sat there and stared down at her food. She hadn't even touched it yet. Hitomi stares at her as she chews. She swallows and speaks. "Kirei?" She asks. The red-head stirred and blinked up at her. "Yeah?" She asks. "You look worried about something." Hitomi says.

The young woman sighs and sets aside her food. "I'm worried about Yuudai. He's never been away this long." Hitomi brings some food to her mouth and blows on it. "Maybe he abandoned us or something." She brings the food into her mouth. Kirei's eyes hardened. "That's not funny."

Hitomi stares hard at Kirei before setting her food aside as well. "Can I ask you something?" She asks. "Yes. Doesn't mean I'll answer, though." Kirei says. "Why are you so loyal to Yuudai?" Hitomi asks. Kirei's hands grip her skirt. "What do you mean by that?" She growls. "I mean, he seems so self-centered. He just doesn't seem to be a good person." Hitomi looked down. "And not the hero I had heard of."

"How dare you!" Kirei yells. Hitomi looks up to see Kirei standing. The young woman glares hatefully down at her. She looked as though she were willing to leap across the fire to get at Hitomi. "You watch what you say about him! He's a great man! Greater than any that lives today!"

Hitomi frowns and stands. "Well he doesn't act like it! He acts more like a desperate criminal! How could you possibly serve and defend him like you do when he acts so unfeeling? How can you be so trusting? He is willing to sacrifice those innocent people!" Kirei's fist shook as she bit her lip. "He doesn't seem worthy of such devotion." Hitomi continues. "Not the way he acts." She notices a glittering light fall from Kirei's cheek. It left a wet stain when it hit the floor.

Kirei's face strains with restrained emotion. "You have no idea what he went through." Kirei chokes. She takes a sharp breath. "What he's still going through." Kirei walks away hurriedly. Hitomi watches her until she turned down a hallway. She sighs and sits again. She pulls her legs in close and rests her chin on her knees.

Ω

Yuudai sits on the edge of the railing, out on the top of the parking garage. His face was emotionless, betraying none of the thoughts in his mind. "What's taking Kuro so long?" He thinks to himself. "I don't like this delay. It can only mean he's planning something. I better be on my guard." A wind sweeps into the garage and tosses his hair. He breathes deep. His eyebrows furrow. Opening his eyes, he sees a man walk up onto the top of the garage and stop. The man was looking right at him. A laugh echoes off of the buildings around them. "Yuudai." The man says. Yuudai rises and dusts off his shoulder. "I was wondering when you were going to show." Yuudai merely says. "You know I don't like waiting."

"You've always been impatient." The man says as he walks closer. "Don't you ever take time to stop and smell the flowers?" "Not when it might cost me my life." Yuudai says darkly. His face was calm and yet there was dangerous look to his eyes. "And I suggest you get your face out of the flowers and realize how serious you situation is. I'm not playing with you like our past fights. You have something I need...and I _will_ get it from you."

The man is silent. "Seems words are no longer of consequence to you." He says. "Only the words on your cards, Kuro." Yuudai replies. He holds up his duel disk and activates it. "Prepare for the fight of your life."

Kuro activates his duel disk. "Let's duel!" They both declare. Yuudai draws a card from his deck. He looks at what cards he has and pulls out out. "I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" he declares. His Paladin exploded onto the field with a shower of light. "Do you always start off duels with that card?" Kuro says. "Makes you seem kind of predictable." The heavy-set man laughs out loud.

Yuudai sets a card without answering. "I set one card face-down and end my turn. And due to my Jain's effect, I discard two cards form the top of my deck." He discards and lowers his duel disk arm. "It's your move, now."

Kuro draws a card and looks at it. He puts it with the rest of the cards in his hand and picks another. "I summon a monster in face-down defense position. Then I end my turn by setting a card."

Yuudai draws and holds up the card. "I activate Hand Destruction! We both discard two cards and draw two more." They both discard and draw. Yuudai examines his hand and the field. "He's got two face-downs. One a monster, the other is most likely a trap. If I remember correctly..." He picks a card slaps it down on his duel disk's panel. "I summon the Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!" A man armed with a katana appears next to Jain. Yuudai points at Kuro's face-down monster. "And now I have him attack!" His Disciple drew the katana and dashes, bringing his sword down on the card hologram. The card changed into a furry fiend before it was destroyed.

"You destroyed my Sangan!" Kuro declares. He pulls out his deck and looks through it. "Now I get to bring a monster from my deck to my hand." "It doesn't change the fact your field is empty. Now I'll have my Jain attack you directly!" Yuudai says, throwing out his hand. "Attack, Jain!" Jain charges with his sword raised over his head. Kuro throws up his hand. "I activate the trap card Magical Arm Shield! " A hologram of the trap card flipped up and changed into a shield.

"With this card, I can use one of your monsters as a defense and you take the damage instead!" Kuro says. The shield opens and an arm comes out and grabs Disciple of the Forbidden Spell. It drags him into Jain's path. Jain slashes him and he explodes into tiny pieces. Yuudai groans as his life points drop to 3200. "Nice moves, I must admit." He mutters. He discards two cards from the top of his deck. "I end my turn."

Kuro draws a card. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!" A sickly blue being with many arms and hands extending from its body rose before Kuro. "And when he is summoned, I'm allowed to bring a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell Card from my deck to my hand." He says as he searches his deck again. "It's exactly as I remember." Yuudai thinks. Kuro chuckles. "I know you're a bit confused, so let me illuminate you. The card I picked was Advanced Ritual Art." He slips it into a slot. "And now I use it!"

Clouds form above their heads and turn slowly. With a crack of thunder, a bolt of blue lightning strikes Manju. "I sacrifice my Manju and another card from my hand to summon Demise, King of Armageddon!" From the pit where Manju once stood a plume of smoke rose. Demise loomed from the smoke and stepped out onto the field. Kuro laughs. "Ah, yes. I finally summoned him. Now I can do what I've been waiting so long to do to you! I use his power to clear the field, at the cost of 2000 life points!"

Demise raises his ax and roars. He strikes the ground with the butt of his ax, breaking the pavement. From the cracks a mist leaks out. It creeps along the field and envelopes Yuudai's monsters. They groan as they are dragged down beneath the mist. Yuudai looks down and away.

"Ha!" Kuro laughed. "Finally, I beat the great Yuudai at his own game! I outwitted you and now I will destroy you!" Kuro points at his Demise. "I sacrifice my Demise, King of Armageddon to summon the Great Maju Garzett!" Demise groans and falls back. His chest bugles and shudders. With a loud rip, it splits open and from within a fiendish being rises. It bears over Yuudai with a roar. "As if he isn't scary enough, my Great Maju Garzett has a special ability. Its attack points are equal to twice the attack of the monster I used to sacrifice for it." Kuro turns his nose up in the air. "If you too shocked to do the math, it means my Maju's attack becomes 4800! With one attack this game is over and there is no way you can protect yourself!"

Yuudai doesn't look up as Kuro laughs. "You've failed them, Yuudai! You failed all of those people! And you have no one to blame but yourself!" Kuro laughs loud and long. He points at Yuudai. "Destroy him, Maju Garzett! End this duel!"

His beast roars again. It raises its skeleton arm and brings it down to slash Yuudai with his clawed fingers. Yuudai doesn't move. He only clenches his fist and shakes.

Ω

Hitomi wanders the halls of the top floor. She looks into all the rooms as she passes them. Some were old offices with overturned desks and papers scattered all over the floor, others were meeting rooms with long tables and torn up seats. Hitomi ran her hands along three jagged scratches on the wall. "What could have happened here?" Hitomi thinks to herself.

She walks into the meeting room and runs her hand along the edge of the table. She picks up a piece of paper left on the table. It was a graph showing the profits and loses of a company. The graph showed great profit, but then the line suddenly fell to zero. Hitomi notices a large KC was at the top corner of the paper. She tilts her head. "Isn't that..."

A piece of glass cracks.

Hitomi turns rapidly. She listens, but hears nothing else. After waiting a little while, she shrugs and puts the paper down. She continues to look around, reading other papers on the table. She couldn't understand any of them. She steps back out into the hall and walks along, peering into other rooms as she does.

A cool breeze touches her and she shivers. She looks into a room and sees a broken window. What was once a lovely pair of curtains flutters in the wind. She walks in and over to the small desk. A picture of a family lay on the desk. The glass of the frame was cracked and stained with blood. Hitomi picks up the picture and tries to see the photo behind the stains.

A bang echoes in the hall.

Hitomi gasps and turns about, dropping the picture. Her chest rises and falls rapidly and her heart pounds in her chest. Hitomi swallows and walks over to the door. She leans her head out. "K-Kirei?" Hitomi calls softly. She steps out and tip-toes down the hall. She peers into all the rooms nervously. "Kirei? Is that you?" She calls again.

Something creaks down the hall.

Hitomi freezes. She swallows hard and continues, keeping her eyes focused in front of her. "Kirei?" She calls a little louder. "Don't tease me just because you're upset with me." She comes to a fork in the hallway and looks down both directions. "Which..." She mutters as she examines each hall. "...Which way did I come from?"

A door slams.

Hitomi jumps and runs down a hall. She runs wildly, taking random turns. She whimpers as she looks back over he shoulder. She could hear something behind her. It sounded like feet. What could it be? Hitomi looks ahead and skids to a halt.

A group of men in uniforms were standing and talking at the end of the hall. Hitomi trembles as she notices their rifles. They all didn't seem to notice her and continued talking. Hitomi steps back slowly. "If I can just reach the corner, I'll be fine." She thinks. She steps back with the other foot with her eyes set firmly on the men. She bit down on her lip. "Almost there." She steps back again and something cracks.

One of the men looks up and points at her. "Look! There's one!" He yells. Hitomi bolts back the way she came. She could hear the men chasing her and yelling for her to stop. Hitomi rounded a corner and she could hear gunfire. She sobs and continues running.

Something grabs her arm and pulls her into an office where she is thrown against a wall. She screams, but a strong hand slaps across her mouth. "Silence." Commands a voice. "If you don't want to die."


	4. A Bet of Faith Part II

**Episode Four: A Bet of Faith (Part II)**

Hitomi's sags as all the air leaves her lungs. "Kirei!" She says. The red-head presses harder over her mouth. "Sh!" She says severely. Not a second passed before the officers ran by their room. Hitomi froze as she listened. Kirei waits until the sounds of running fade away before taking her hand off of Hitomi's mouth. She leans out the door. "I think they're gone." She whispers.

"Hey! She's not here!"

"Where did she go?"

"She's probably hiding back there!"

"Not for long." Hitomi groans. Kirei grabs her hand. "Come on!" She says, pulling Hitomi out of the room. She runs down the hall and away from their pursuers. Hitomi pants as she tries to keep up with Kirei, but the young woman was in much better shape than she was. She wasn't even out of breath.

"Slow down." Hitomi begs. Kirei looks back over her shoulder. She sees the officers skid to a halt at an intersection and look both ways. Seeing the girls, they point and run after them. "Not a chance, kid! Here they come!" She says. Hitomi didn't believe it was possible, but Kirei started to run faster. She pulls Hitomi around a corner just as the officers unload a magazine of ammunition. The wall behind them explodes into dust and debris.

Hitomi sobs. Panic now drove her to keep up with Kirei. "Why are they shooting at us?" Hitomi cries. "It's the law out here." Kirei says. "Resist arrest, you will be shot." They round a corner and come face to face with an officer. All three gasp. The officer fumbles and raises his gun. "You're under arre--" His head snaps back and then he bends over holding his stomach. Kirei moves a bang back behind her ear. She stares down at the man as he groans. "Good night." She says. She kicks him in the face and he flops onto his back. Hitmoi gasps. "Wow!"

"This way! Come on!"

Hitomi looks down the hall and grabs Kirei's hand. "Here they come!" She says. She and Kirei run off again. They come to their old camp spot and Kirei runs over to the elevators. Hitomi points. "Aren't we going to use the stairs?"

"They wouldn't expect us to use these." Kirei says. "Besides, they're all up here. Once we reach the bottom we'll be in the clear!" She pushes the elevator's button rapidly, tapping her foot. Hitomi runs over and taps the other elevator's button. "Come on, come on, come on..." Kirei mutters impatiently.

There was a chime and the doors open. The two girls dive into the elevator and Kirei hits a button to close the doors. Another chime sounds and the doors slide closed. Hitomi hits the lobby button. The girls grab the railing on the walls of cabin as it jostles. Nothing seemed to happen. Both watch the floor indicator. The floor numbers started changing after a few moments. Both sigh with relief and fall against the walls of the cabin. "It works." Kirei says with a smile. Hitomi nods. "Thank goodness."

They both close their eyes and relax. Hitomi wasn't sure, but she could have sworn there was music playing in the cabin of the elevator. It was slow and warped. It was probably a beautiful melody at one time -- one that the passengers would actually enjoy listening to.

"Listen kid." Kirei says. "I'm sorry about earlier." She looks over at Hitomi. She gives a weak smile. "You see, I grew up with Yuudai. Our parents were very good friends and we were raised side by side since birth." She looks down at the floor. She doesn't speak for a long time. "There's a Yuudai I know…a different Yuudai than the one you see on the outside. The Yuudai I know is a sweet, caring and nurturing boy. He loves me like his own sister." She looks up at Hitomi. "I guess you can say that's why I'm so trusting and loyal."

Hitomi's eyes water. "Kirei." She murmurs. She wipes her eyes. "Now don't get all mushy." Kirei says with a roll of her eyes. Hitomi giggles and smiles at her. "I'm sorry too, Kirei. I just expected Yuudai to be different, that's all. I never expected him to be…" "I know." Kirei says. She shrugs. "Stories can do that." She looks up at the ceiling of the cabin. "Stories make people expect different things and miss what's really there. Sometimes what's there is better than the stories, if you take the time to look." Hitomi nods and follows her gaze. "Still doesn't mean there's a hero in Yuudai." She thinks bitterly. Both of the girls sit there quietly. Kirei closes her eyes and yawns.

"What happened to him?" Hitomi asks, breaking the silence. Kirei looks over at her. "What do you mean?" "I mean, what made him change? If he was as you said, then what changed him?" Hitomi asks.

Kirei sighs and hangs her head. "Yuudai made me swear never to speak of it. And I won't break my promise. All I will say is: he hasn't recovered even to this day. He still hurts. I think that's why I'm the only one who has gotten this close to him." She shrugs. "I'm the last thing from his past he never lost." "You need each other." Hitomi says softly. Kirei looks down at her feet and nods.

The elevator slows to a stop. Kirei's face snaps up as the chime sounded and the doors slide open. A group of officers stood on the other side. Seeing Hitomi and Kirei, their eyes widen. Hitomi brings her hands to her mouth, squeaking in fright. Each side stared at the other, but neither moved.

An officer comes into view form around the side. "What's up?" He asks. He follows his friends' gazes and his jaw drops, as does his rifle. Kirei searches their eyes, her body tense like a panther's.

The chime sounds again and the doors slide closed. The elevator starts to move again. Both girls continue to stare at the elevator doors. Hitomi shook, with her hands still over her mouth.

"Well." Kirei says as she wipes her brow. "That was interesting. Now we know to run out those doors when we reach the bottom." Hitomi lowers her hands and nods. Kirei looks over and shakes her shoulder. "Stiff upper lip, kid. You're doing fine so far." Hitomi nods again, still staring at the doors.

Kirei looks up and watches as the floors pass on the indicator. Only twenty more floors to go, but it felt like forever to her. As the indicator approached ten, Kirei pulls Hitomi to her feet. "Get ready to run. We don't stop until we are out of this place." Hitomi nods.

The elevator stops at the lobby and the doors slide open. Kirei and Hitomi bolt out the elevator and across the lobby. Kirei looks around as they run. She didn't see any officers around. "Freeze!" A voice echoes from above. Guns go off and tear up the floor around Kirei and Hitomi. Hitomi covers her head and whimpers as pieces of tile flew up around her. Kirei grabs her and throws her ahead. "Move it!" She yells.

The two jump through the gaps in the glass doors and run out into the street. Hitomi holds her chest and looks up at the building. Kirei chuckles as she pants, leaning on her knees. "So far, so good." She says. She feels Hitomi tap her shoulder and she turns. The young girl points to two cars that just pulled up. They were sleek black sedans. Four men dressed in suits step out of the cars.

"Give me a break." Kirei groans. Hitomi slips behind Kirei. "Who are they?" She asks. "Bad news." Kirei says. She grabs Hitomi's hand and pulls her along as she starts running again.

Ω

Yuudai shakes and throws back his head, laughing out loud. "What's so funny, Yuudai? Cracking under the pressure?" Kuro asks. Yuudai meets his eyes. There was an evil glee in his voice when he spoke. "I'm far from done, Kuro. Do you honestly think I was going to lose to you?" He says. He sweeps his hand through the air. "This game is still on!"

"No it isn't!" Kuro objects. "You're done! My Maju's attack will wipe you out!" "Not when I activate my trap card!" Yuudai says. His hologram of Draining Shield rose. "You were so quick to build up your offense you didn't keep an eye on my defense." Yuudai says. "Now it will cost you the duel. You honestly think I didn't have a hunch on what you were trying to do?" Kuro stumbles back. "No! You knew I would try this combo?"

Maju Garzett slashes down and his claws glance off the barrier formed from Draining Shield. Yuudai closes his eyes and tilts back his head as a green aura lines his body. His life points rise to 8000. Kuro stomps with a growl. "No! I don't believe it! How can you possibly keep one-upping me?"

Yuudai draws. He picks a card from his hand and holds it up. "I summon to the field Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!" Another Disciple rises before Yuudai and draws his sword. "And with him, I will destroy your all-mighty Maju Garzett!"

Kuro slaps his forehead and laughs. "Destroy my Garzett? Are you losing it, Yuudai? Can't you see your monster's attack points aren't even half of my monster's?" Yuudai snickers. "You shouldn't underestimate my monsters." He points at Great Maju Garzett. "Go, my Disciple! Forbidden Sword!" His Disciple dashes and leaps high, dragging his sword through Maju Garzett. He lands behind Garzett and sheaths its blade. He snaps his fingers and Garzett groans and explodes.

"How?" Kuro demands. "How can that puny monster defeat my Great Garzett?" Kuro points at Yuudai, his eyes wild. "You cheated! I know you did!" Yuudai chuckles and runs his finger under his nose. "You seriously need to start reading your opponent's card effects. You see, you brought this on yourself!" "How?" Kuro asks. Yuudai points to his graveyard slot. "You destroyed my other Disciple of the Forbidden Spell. Since there was one in the grave, I get to choose an attribute. If the Disciple I have on the field destroys a monster of that attribute, it is destroyed immediately."

"You planned this? Since the beginning?" Kuro asks. He clenches and unclenches his hands. "I'll get you yet, Yuudai! I have other strategies I can use! One will get you, I know it!" Yuudai lowers his duel disk arm. "I end my turn. Let's see these great strategies of yours."

Kuro draws a card. He eyes Yuudai before slapping it down on a panel. "I set one card face down and set another. With that I end my turn."

Yuudai draws. "If that's one of your strategies - stalling - then I'm not impressed." He looks at his hand. "I don't like all these stall and search tactics Kuro's using." Yuudai thinks. "I'll just give myself a little insurance." He picks a card and shows it to Kuro. "I activate the spell card known as Painful Choice. And I promise you, you'll find the choice most painful."

Yuudai takes out his deck and searches through it. He picks five cards and puts the deck back in its slot. "Pick the one that goes to my hand, Kuro." Yuudai says, clearing the field so he could lay the cards down. Holograms of the cards appear; three were Marie the Fallen One cards and two were Necro Gardna cards. Kuro gasps and shakes his head. "But...but they all benefit from being in the graveyard!" He exclaims.

"That's where the pain comes it." Yuudai says haughtily. "You must choose depending on what will cause you less pain in the future!" Kuro examines all the cards. He mutters and scratches his chin. He points to one. "I pick one of your Necro Gardnas!"

Yuudai brings it to his hand and discards the rest. He places Disciple back on the field and looks at his hand. He chuckles and selects another card. "Now I use Monster Reincarnation! By discarding a card from my hand..." Yuudai holds up his Necro Gardna so Kuro could see. Kuro groans as he puts it in his grave slot. "...I can bring another back from the grave to my hand." Another card slips out and Yuudai grabs it. "And now I summon it! Come on back, Jain!" His Paladin rose with a yell and spun his sword. "Now I'll end my turn." He says. He discards two cards from the top of his deck.

Kuro draws a card and points at his face-down monster. "I flip my monster face up!" The hologram of his face-down monster flips and the creature rises from the picture. It was a mechanical jar. "My Cyber Jar's effect now activates! All monsters on the field are destroyed and we pick up five cards, then we..."

Yuudai draws five. "I know how it works." He says flatly as his monsters vanish. He looks at the drawn cards and selects two. "I summon Garoth and Lumina to the field!" His monsters rise from a pool of light. Kuro examines the five he drew and selects three. "I summon one Insect Soldier and two Neo Bugs!" The three bugs claw up from the ground and hiss.

Kuro throws out his hand. "Now I sacrifice all three to summon Gilford the Lightning from my hand!" Yuudai's eyes widen. Gilford lands before Kuro and raises his blade. "I think you know what happens now." Kuro says with a cocky smile. Gilford's sword sparks and crackles with electric energy. He roars and throws down his sword, unleashing a wave of lightning. The wave strikes Lumina and Garoth, destroying them on contact. Yuudai throws up his arms to block himself as their shattered remains splash over him.

"Now I sacrifice four bugs in my graveyard to summon two Doom Dozers from my hand!" Kuro declares. Two huge centipedes break up from the ground and settle on either side of Gilford. "Now attack, my creatures!" Kuro orders.

"You forgot about my Necro Gardna monsters! Now I use their effects to stop your Doom Dozers from attacking!" Yuudai says. His Necro Gardnas slip out of his graveyard and Yuudai pockets them. "But what stops my Gilford from attacking?" Kuro says. Gilford lunges at Yuudai, stabbing him in the chest with his sword. Yuudai groans and cries out as the sword pumped electricity into his body. Gilford withdraws and Yuudai falls to one knee, grasping his chest as his life points drop to 5200. "And what stops all three from attacking next turn?" Kuro asks with a laugh.

Yuudai chuckles. "You poor man." Yuudai says. He stands and dusts off his knee casually. "You talk a good game, but you've repeatedly failed to deliver. What makes you think I'll take you seriously now?" Kuro sneers. "Just you wait, Chiyo! I'll show you!"

Yuudai draws. He is suddenly wreathed in a green aura and his life points rise to 5800. Kuro gasps. "What was that?" He asks. "Seems you forgot I have three Marie the Fallen Ones in my graveyard. For each, I receive 200 life points on my standby phase." He holds out a card. "Now I activate the magic of Terraforming! This brings one Field Spell card from my deck to my hand!" Yuudai declares. He searches his deck and picks a card. He shuffles the deck and puts it back in its slot and puts the card he selected into his hand.

"Now I think I will play it." Yuudai says. A separate slot opens at the end of his duel disk's panel. He slips the field spell into it. "I use Light Realm!" The world around them ripples and morphs. They now stand before pearl gates of a large city lit by pure light. On either side of them were tall towers. "Then, I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress!" His magician rose and stuck out her mace. Yuudai switches Lyla into defense mode. "Now I use her special ability. By switching her to defense mode, I can destroy one face down card in your Spell and Trap Card Zone." Lyla kneels and a wave ripples out from under her. It strikes Kuro's face-down card and destroys it.

"Having fun?" Yuudai asks. Throws out his hand. "Have some more!" His face-down card flips up. "I use Glorious Illusion to summon Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon!" A bubble of light explodes behind Yuudai, stretching up to the clouds above. The tower bulges and then explodes as Gragonith opens its wings. Gragontih lowers behind Yuudai with a shower of glittering lights. "Finally, I use the trap Destruction of Destiny. By discarding three cards from the top of my deck, I lose 1000 life points for every magic or trap card that is discarded by this effect." His life points drop to 3800. Three windows in the two towers light up. Kuro looks up at them. "What are those?"

Yuudai tilts his head to look. "Those are Shine Counters. My field card gains them every time a card is discarded from the top of my deck. And for every Shine Counter, Lightsworn Monsters gain an additional 100 attack points."

Lyla and Gragonith's attack points rise to 2000 and 3500 respectfully. "Now attack, Gragonith! Iliaster Purge!" His dragon blasts Gilford with his breath and destroys it. Kuro groans as he leans against the explosion. "I end my turn." Yuudai says, discarding eights cards. Suddenly, a humanoid beast with a wolf's head appears on Yuudai's side of the field. It growls and grips his staff. Kuro steps back. "What's this? You ended your turn!"

"Let me introduce Wulf, Lightsworn Beast." Yuudai says, gesturing to Wulf. "You see, when he is sent from the deck to the graveyard, he is special summoned to the field." Yuudai explains.

Kuro draws. "He won't be around for long." He says. "I summon Shadow Ghoul! And then I equip him with United We Stand! With his effect and the effect of United We Stand, his attack points rise to 4800!" Shadow Ghoul rises from his shadow. It grows to enormous size and hisses. Yuudai chuckles. "Too bad you wont be able to attack me with him." "What do you mean?" Kuro demands.

Yuudai throws out a hand. "I activate the trap card Solar Ray! For every LIGHT attribute monster on my side of the field, you are dealt with 600 points of damage!" "No!" Kuro exclaims. "No, I can't lose! Not again!"

All of Yuudai's monsters began to glow white. They grew brighter and brighter. Kuro covers his face with his hands and cries out as the light becomes too bright. His life points drop to zero and he falls to his knees.

The holograms fade and Yuudai deactivates his duel disk. He walks over to Kuro and stands over him. "Well?" Yuudai says. "I believe you owe me one keypass." Kuro looks up at him and laughs. "No. You're getting nothing out of me." Yuudai glares. "What do you mean?"

Kuro laughs. "You may hold all the cards in the game." He looks off to a building. "But outside of the game, the cards are in my favor." Yuudai follows his gaze up to the building. He could see black figures standing on top of it. He looks off to another building and there were little black figures on top of it as well.

"I will keep the keypass." Kuro says. "And you will be dragged off to the maximum security prison." "So you brought friends, eh?" Yuudai asks. Kuro nods. "Yes. And a few are looking for your friends as we speak! Face it, you won't escape this time!"

Yuudai turns back to him. Kuro's eyes widen. Yuudai's eyes were clear like glass. They were frightening - almost not human. It made his blood run cold to behold. Yuudai's hand reaches for his deck. "How much are you willing to bet?" He asks darkly.

Ω

Kirei and Hitomi plop down behind an old bus and rest. Hitomi lays her head back against the rusty metal and breathes hard. "Who are they?" Hitomi asks with a hoarse voice. "Special Forces. They're the most dangerous. They're good duelists and even better marksmen." Kirei says. She gets onto her hands and knees. She peers around the side of the bus. She pulls back and a bullet ricochets off of the bus where her face once was. "See?" She says.

"Where do we go?" Hitomi sobs. Kirei looks around. She sees a large building across the street from where they hid. Its doors were wide open and there were pillars, trees and cars to provide cover for them. "We'll go there." Kirei says. Hitomi looks and nods. "Alright. Say when." The two get to their feet and crouch. "When!" Kirei yells.

The two bolt from behind the bus. Immediately, the Special Forces fire at them. The bullets buzz by their heads and glance off of the ground at their feet. Kirei throws Hitomi behind a tree and dives behind a car. The bullets rain heavily around them. Hitomi huddles close to the tree as the bullets eat away at the sides. "Kirei!" She yells over the sound of gunfire. Kirei looks around and grabs a rock. She waits until the shots lessen before standing and throwing it. She was rewarded with a meaty thud. The bullets stop and she runs out and grabs Hitomi. She pulls her by the hand across the lawn of the building and up the stoop. They got behind one of its pillars just as agents started shooting again.

"We're almost there, kid." Kirei says. "We're going to have to chance it." Hitomi looks up at her with surprise. She looks over at the entrance. There was still a huge porch to run across before they got to the door. "But it's wide open! They could shoot us before we get in!" "That's why it's a chance." Kirei says. "We got to try. They're getting closer."

Hitomi looks at the entrance. She nods. "Alright. Let's go." "You first." Kirei says. Hitomi shakes her head. "I don't want to leave you alone!" "Well I won't leave you alone." Kirei says. "And one of us will have to give in or we'll both be captured." Hitomi bites her lip. She looks at the door and back up at her. "But I…" She covers her head as a shower of plaster covers her. "Just go! Hurry, kid." Kirei says. With a deep breath, Hitomi runs out and through the front door. Bullets splinter the door as she passes it. Kirei smiles. "She's definitely got nerve!" She says. She waits a bit before she runs out and follows Hitomi through the door.

When she entered, Kirei's eyes turned up and she slowed to a stop. She stood in a huge, domed room. It was full of bookshelves, lined with rows and rows of books. "Wow." She mutters as she stares up at them. She walks between two of the bookshelves and runs her hands along the top of a dusty volume. She looks at her finger and runs the dust from the book between her fingers. "So old." She thought. Of all the times she's been to this city, she didn't remember a library being here.

At the end of the bookshelves, Hitomi stood in the center of an open floor. She, too, gazed at the large selection of books. Kirei runs over to her. "It's a library." Hitomi says as she comes over. "I see that. Let's hope those thugs want to check out a book when they follow us in here. Might give us some time." She says. She looks around between the shelves. "Did you find another way out of here?" Kirei asks. Hitomi shakes her head. "I didn't see any." She says. Kirei runs along the aisles, looking between them. She spots another doorway. "This way." She says, waving Hitomi over.

The girls run to the door and through it. It led them to a stairway. They climb up the stairs and into a large reading room. It was, in fact, two floors with the higher level enclosed by a railing. Tables and chairs lay scattered and asunder in the middle of the open floor. A large stain-glass window filled the wall opposite of them. It showed a man in a white robe with an open book resting in one hand and a candle was held in the other.

"There's go to be an emergency exit somewhere." Kirei says. The sound of pounding feet comes from the stairway behind them. Kirei and Hitomi turn and watch as the Special Forces run up the steps and come into the room. They train their guns on the girls. "Put your hands behind your head!" One orders.

Kirei looks at Hitomi, who looks at her. She sighs and nods. The two girls put their hands behind their heads and wait. One of the men approaches, still aiming his gun on them. "Get the handcuffs, Gene." He says to another. His friend reaches into his pocket and pulls out two pairs of cuffs. They looked like two silver bands. Pressing his finger on a scanner on the side, a band of energy connected them.

Hitomi weeps softly, squeezing her eyes shut. Kirei sighs. "Sorry kid. Sorry it has to end like this." The man came around them and took Kirei's hands. He opens the cuffs and rests them on her wrists.

A bright light shines onto them through the stain-glass window. The Special Forces groan and block the light with their hands. "What is this?" One demanded. The sound of a million tiny screams fill the air and a shower of glass falls on them. The agent behind Kirei groans and tumbles to the side. A dark figure rolls between the two girls and kneels before them.

"Yuudai!" Hitomi exclaims as the lights die down. The Special Forces aim their guns at Yuudai. "You! Stand up! Put your hands on your head!" One yells. Yuudai looks up passed his bangs at them. His eyes were alive with a light deep within. He rises slowly. "Run." He says to Hitomi and Kirei. "What? No!" Hitomi exclaims. Kirei grabs her and pushes her. "Do as he says! Run!"

The Special Forces cocked their guns and Yuudai pulls out a card from his deck. The agents open fire on the girls and Yuudai holds the card up before him, which lights up. The bullets fall short of their targets, glancing off an invisible wall.

Hitomi and Kirei watch from their hiding place behind a shelf. As she watches, the words of the old man from the refuge ring in Hitomi's mind.

_"Young Yuudai has a gift for dueling and has used that gift to help those who are cast out from Domino City..."_

"Is that his gift?" She asks breathlessly. The men stop firing and lower their guns. All was silent as they stare in awe at Yuudai. Yuudai merely stares back. A small breeze flutters his hair and clothing. All was deathly silent as though the sound had been sucked out of the very air. The agents look around at the bookshelves and windows as they rattle and shake.

Everything freezes in time and the air shudders. A wall of wind explodes from Yuudai, and the agents are flung back. They slam against the walls and are held there by the wind. Books fly off the shelves and flutter about. The wood shelves are torn off the ground and thrown down. All the windows in the library shatter and burst out onto the streets.

The wind stops and the agents fall to the ground. They groan and try to rise, but fall back on their faces. Yuudai lowers the card and slips it back into his deck. Kirei smiles and runs over. "Yuudai!" She yells. Hitomi runs after her. "I knew you'd come for us, bro!" Kirei says as she hugs him. "You were that worried about me?" Yuudai asks. Kirei nods. "A bit." She sniffs and pulls back. She wipes her eyes and rolls her shoulders. "But I knew you'd come back. I knew it."

Yuudai looks over Kirei's shoulder at Hitomi. She looks down at her feet. "You alright?" He asks. Hitomi nods. "I am." Yuudai walks over to her. "Still upset, are you?" He asks. Hitomi nods. "A bit." A chuckle filters out of Yuudai's cloth. "Then look at this, and tell me if it makes you feel better."

Hitomi looks down as he places something in her palm. It was a plastic card. Hitomi examines it. "What is this?" "A keypass." Yuudai says. Hitomi gasps and looks back up at Yuudai. "You won?" Yuudai's eyes narrow. "No…I lost and he felt so bad for me, he gave it to me. What do you think?" Hitomi laughs and then stops. "Yuudai…I, um…I want to apologize." She says. She looks down. "I should have trusted you."

"You would have been a fool to do so." Yuudai says. "You were right to not trust in a complete stranger." Hitomi gasps and her heart flutters feeling his finger curl under her chin. It guided her face up so she looked him in the eyes. Yuudai's eyes were soft and calm. Hitomi's cheeks turn pink as he whispers to her, "just have faith in me. That's all I ask."

Hot tears fell down Hitomi's cheeks. She nods and gives a weak smile. "That's a chance I'm willing to take." She says. "It's the least I can do, Yuudai." Hitomi bites her lip and her chin quivers. She throws herself into his arms and weeps into his chest. Yuudai looks down with surprise. Kirei chuckles and shakes her head. "What an infant." She says with a smile.

"Thank you, Yuudai." Hitomi says. Yuudai pats her head. "You're welcome, Hitomi." He says. Hitomi smiles, feeling safe in Yuudai's presence. She looks up at him. Though he still had the cloth over his mouth, she could tell he was smiling. Now she understands what Kirei meant -- she has seen it for herself. There _i__s_ a hero in Yuudai.


	5. A Dark Secret

**Episode Five: A Dark Secret**

Hitomi walks through darkness, splashing through ankle-high water. She stares straight ahead with half-closed eyes. In the distance are two stars. They twinkle, almost eagerly as Hitomi walks closer. As she walks, the water slowly rises higher. The sounds of explosions echo around her. Sparks and ashes fall from above and land on her face. They felt cold like ice. Even so, she doesn't seem to notice. She just stares at the lights, which where growing bigger.

The water is waist-height now. Hitomi stops and stares up at the two stars that hover over her head. They were large eyes; unblinking and faceless. In them Hitomi could see a plane. It drifted gracefully in a clear blue sky. She could see the faces of the people in the windows. Some were asleep, some were staring out of the windows excitedly. Suddenly, it explodes. The nose of the plane is gone and a stream of fire sprays out of the opening. Hitomi watches as more sparks splash against her face. The images start again; a plane flying, smiling faces in the windows, then it explodes. A tear falls down her face as she continues to stare into the eyes even as the water rises over her head.

Hitomi's eyes snap open. She sits up clutches at her chest, choking. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't calm herself no matter what she did. She bites her lip and squints her eyes, trying to gain control. Soon, her breathing slows. She opens her mouth and takes a deep breath. Her vision flashes white and she looks around. She is in a cave. Opposite of her, sleeping with her head rested on her backpack, was Kirei. She looks over to the mouth of the cave. Outside rain patters and drips off the cave mouth. Yuudai stood there, looking out as he leaned on the wall. Hitomi runs a hand over her eyes and rubs her tearstained cheeks. A rumble of thunder causes her to jump with a gasp.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Yuudai asks without looking. Hitomi looks up and back down. Hugging herself tight, she coughs and sniffs. "I'm fine." "To the contrary." Yuudai says. "You've been squirming and crying." "I had a bad dream! That's all!" Hitomi snaps. He chuckles softly. "Must have been a really bad one at that." He says. Hitomi looks up at him and sighs. "I'm sorry, Yuudai." She says, hanging her head. Yuudai glances at her and smiles. "It's okay." He looks back out into the night. "I have nightmares as well."

Hitomi's eyes widen. "You have nightmares, Yuudai?" She asks. Yuudai nods. She licks her lips and rubs her arms. "What about?" Yuudai continues to stare out of the cave. "Let's just say they're disturbing enough to keep me awake." Yuudai says after a length. Hitomi furrows her eyebrows. "Are they about the crime you committed?"

Yuudai's hand grips, dragging his nails along the stone of the cave wall. His jaw locks and his eyes become intense. "Only the so-called civilization of Domino City sees it that way." He says. "But I know otherwise." Hitomi stares at him, musing what he had said. A breeze blows into the cave, spraying them with rain. Kirei moans and stirs. "Why so chewy?" She murmurs. She goes still as she drifts back into sleep. Hitomi shivers and looks out of the cave. She could see the silhouette of the huge city of Domino across the river. "Then why are we going there if they are after you, Yuudai? Is the man you are after that important?" She asks.

Yuudai turns from the cave mouth and looks at her. Hitomi stares at him and with every second that passed, he looked as though he were getting closer and closer to literally exploding. "It is more important than anything." He says. "He took something away from me. Something very precious." His lip quivers only to go harden like the rest of his face. He looks back out. Hitomi's eyes water. "Yuudai..." She rises to her feet. "Yuudai, I'm so sorry." She says softly. She starts to walk over to him. "Stop!" He hisses. She freezes, frightened by his reaction. "Yuudai?" She says. Yuudai nods out into the night. "More of your friends are here." Yuudai says.

Hitomi looks, but she didn't see anything. "I don't see them." She whispers. She puts a hand over her heart and looks at him. "Are you sure?" Yuudai nods. Hitomi squeezes her eyes shut and whimpers as memories of the black men come to mind: an image of them standing over her; an image of shadows leaping from building to building in pursuit of her; an image of cowering under a stoop with the black men just outside. "What are they?" She asks. She looks to Yuudai. "Do you know what they are?"

"They call themselves the Avodah Zara." Yuudai says. "They serve the man I'm after. The man with a scar on his face. They appeared around the same time the Chaos did." "Chaos?" Hitomi asks. With a sigh, Yuudai continues. "In the past, Domino City, like many other cities, was nothing like it is now. I was just a normal city. That is, until ten years ago. I never knew exactly what had caused it...until recently." Yuudai closes his eyes. "There are two worlds, Hitomi. One is our world -- the Human World; the other is the Monster World. For some reason, both worlds are starting to overlap. Monsters pass into our world, sometimes dozens at a time. Some are good and take care of the humans they find. Others are terrible and malevolent. For ten years things have only worsened. More and more monsters are coming into our world every year." Yuudai looks back out. "_That_ is the Chaos."

"Ten years ago." Hitomi says. She looks down and covers her mouth. "But _it _came to me ten years ago." "Hitomi." She looks up at Yuudai. He motions toward Kirei as he's looking out of the cave. "Go wake up Kirei." Hitomi nods and runs over. She kneels at the young woman's side and shakes her shoulder. Kirei moans. "Agh, what is it kid? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" "Yuudai needs you, Kirei." Hitomi says. Kirei's eyes snap open and she immediately gets to her feet. She stumbles over to Yuudai's side. "What is it, bro?" She asks. "Avodah Zara servants. Looks like you're going to get that party at night you've always wanted." Yuudai answers. Kirei chuckles. "Gee. I'm so excited."

Yuudai looks back at Hitomi. "You should go to the back of the cave. As far as you can." He says. Hitomi swallows hard. "Can't we just run?" She asks. Yuudai and Kirei, knowingly or not, shook their heads at the same time. "No. It's too late for that. They must have been following us for a while." Yuudai says. Hitomi hugs herself. "But I don't want something to happen." Kirei smiles. "Stiff upper lip, kid. Nothing we haven't handled before." Hitomi smiles a bit looking at her. "Are you sure?" Kirei nods with a wink. "We'll be fine." She says confidently. Hitomi nods back. "Then be careful. Both of you." She says. She turns and runs further into the cave.

Yuudai activates his duel disk. "Ready?" "I'm always ready to fight by your side, bro." Kirei says as she activates her duel disk. They both step out into the rain and walk into the dark. As they walk, five dark figures loom into view. One drifted apart from his friends approached. Yuudai gestures for Kirei to stay behind. He meets the man half-way so they stood within an arm's reach from each other. "You have something we want." The servant says. "We've hunted the girl for a long time. And anyone who got in our way has been trampled." The man smiles. "As a friendly recommendation: don't be foolish enough to let that happen to you." Yuudai smiles back. "Your seven other friends had a little trouble keeping that reputation." He says calmly. "And they were sent far away from here. So unless you want to join them, here's a friendly recommendation: turn around now and don't come back."

The servant's smile fades. "You may have beaten the Emperors, but they were cocky and underestimated you, which I won't do." He says. Yuudai smirks and runs a hand under his nose. "Emperors. They actually had a name? Like it matters. I don't name the bugs I crush." His eyes glitter with a yellow light. The servant sneers at him. A white stream of breath slips out his nose as he growls. "Stand aside or suffer the wrath of our master!" Yuudai chuckles and raises his duel disk. "I'm not standing aside. And don't worry, once I'm finished with you I will take care of your master soon enough."

"Bro." Kirei says as she approaches. "Don't duel on your own." The servant activates his duel disk and turns his hooded head to her. "Do not worry, little girl. I will be the only one dueling your friend." Kirei clenches her hands and glares at the servant. "Why are your friends here, then? Are they your groupies or something?" She asks. The man sneers at her. "Watch yourself." He says. "Or those groupies could all duel you at once." Kirei almost looked feline as she smiled up at the man. "I welcome the chance." Kirei purrs. Yuudai eyes her with a smile. "Don't lose your cool. You need to keep your wits about you." He leans closer to her and whispers, "if any should try to sneak around me, do anything you wish to stop them." Kirei smiles again, looking up at the man. "Fine by me, bro."

Kirei steps back and Yuudai takes a stance. "Duel!" Both he and the servant declare. Yuudai's eyes flash yellow. A dark dome forms around the two duelists. The rain hits the dome and runs off, unable to pass through. Yuudai draws first and picks a card from his hand and holds it out. "I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" His warrior appears with a shower of sparks. "Then I set a card and end my turn." He says, discarding two cards from the top of his deck.

"My turn." The servant says as he draws. He slips a card into his duel disk's slot. "I activate S.O. Cell Incubator!" A glass tank rose beside the servant. It was filled with a green liquid, in which a fleshy cell floated. "I start out with one S.O. Cell Counter. But every time a monster is normal summoned, I gain another Cell Counter." He picks a card from his hand and presents it. "Now I activate the magic card Mitosis. This splits the Cell Counter in the Incubator into two." The cell pulses faster. A seam formed from the top and traveled down the cell. The two halves separate, only linked together for a moment by a line of mucus. "With that I end my turn."

Kirei grimaces. "I think this is going to be a very interesting duel, to say the least." Yuudai draws a card and examines his hand. He picks a card. "I activate the magic of the spell card Foolish Burial! With this, I send Wulf, Lightsworn Beast from my deck to the grave." He does this and smiles. "This activates its effect. Now he is special summoned to the field." Wulf rises beside Jain with a growl. Yuudai points. "Attack him! End this!" Both his monsters remain in their places. Yuudai looks at them. "What's going on?" "My Incubator has a second effect." The servant says with a grin. "As long as it is on the field, you cannot attack my life points directly."

Yuudai grunts and discards two cards from the top of his deck. "I end my turn." He says. The servant draws his card and looks at the cards in his hand. "I now sacrifice the two S.O. Cell Counters in my Incubator to summon S.O. Zoan." The Incubator lets the liquid from inside pour out onto the field. It coated the ground like a thick syrup. The two cells sat in the liquid, still pulsing. Kirei holds her nose. "That's nasty!" She says. The two cells stirred and pulsed faster. They started to slither closer to each other. Then, they combine and grow a long hair-like tail. "Now I set one card face-down and end my turn." The servant says.

Yuudai draws a card and points with it. "Attack, Wulf!" He says. His beast growls and lunges at Zoan. The little creature squeals as Wulf slashes it at it shatters into tiny pieces. The servant's life points drop to 3200. The servant throws out a hand. "I activate the trap Malignant Tumor! Even though my Zoan is destroyed, your Wulf is now infected with S.O. Cells." Wulf groans as two lumps move around under his skin and stop on his chest, over his heart. Yuudai discards two cards from the top of his deck.

"So how do you like my monsters so far, legend?" The servant asks mockingly. Yuudai doesn't answer. He only stares into hood shadow where his eyes would be. The servant draws with a snicker. "I now summon Cell Daughter! And when she's summoned, she gains one Cell Counter. Now my Incubator gains one too!" The servant pulls out another card from his hand. "Now I sacrifice the counters on my Cell Daughter, Cell Incubator and on your Wulf!"

The cell spills out of the Incubator like the others before it. A small cell detaches from Cell Daugther's stomach and splashes onto the ground. These cells crawl along the ground and up Wulf's legs. They reach his mouth and force their way down his throat. Wulf groans and wails. It grips at it's chest and falls to its knees. Foam falls from the corners of its maw. Suddenly, with a misty cough, something erupts from it's mouth. "This allows me to summon my S.O. Eel!" A long Eel slips out of Wulf's mouth and onto the ground. Wulf falls back and shatters. The Eel gives a loud scream and slithers over to the servant's side of the field.

"Now, for every S.O. Cell Counter on the field, my Eel gains 100 attack points!" The servant says. "But there are none. You used them all." Yuudai says snidely. The servant laughs and holds up a card. "After I use this, you might see differently. I use the magic of Binary Fission. This separates my Cell Daughter into S.O. Cells."

Cell Daughter falls apart into pieces, sinking into the mucus. Four Cell counters were left behind. They crawled up and into the Cell Incubator. The Eel screams as it grows in size, it's attack points rise to 1900. "Now attack his Jain! Nucleic Acid!" The Eel sprays a green fluid from its mouth and bathes Jain in it. Jain howls in pain as he melts away. Yuudai's life points drop to 3900.

Kirei groans. "What kind of deck is this? I've never seen anything like it!" She says. Her eyes flicker and look off into the dark. She watched as two of the other servants slip off to the side. She grits her teeth. "No good, sons of..." She growls. She runs and cuts them off. She holds up her duel disk. "Where do you think you two are going?"

"Get out of our way, little girl." One said. "And we'll spare your life." Kirei throws back her head and gives a loud 'ha'. "Spare me? Spare me the threats!" She gave him a smile. She almost looked hungry. "I wouldn't miss this chance to fight you."

The servants look at one another. The one that spoke looks back at Kirei. "Fine. Let's duel." They activate their duel disks. From under their hoods, red lights flash. Another dark dome forms around them. The servants draw. "I summon Gazelle, King of Mythical Beasts!" One says. The other holds out a card. "I summon Berfomet!" He says. "And then I use the Spell Card Polymerization!" A vortex forms and swallows up both of the creatures. From the void, another monster comes out. "This fuses our creatures into Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!" Their beast roars at the sky with its two heads. "Then we end our turn with a face-down." The other says.

Kirei draws. She holds out a card. "I use Pot of Greed! With this, I get to draw two cards!" She draws again and examines her hand. "I now summon a monster in face-down defense position. Then I end my turn by setting a card. It's your move."

"Good!" Says a servant. He and his partner draw. "I use Fairy Meteor Crush and equip it to my Chimera! With it, my beast does damage even if your monster is in defense mode!" Chimera howls and attacks Kirei's monster. The hologram of the face-down card flips face up and a raven appears. It squeaks in panic before it shatters.

"Is that all?" Kirei asks as she pulls out a card from her deck. "I summon Inaba White Rabbit! With it, I can attack your Life Points directly!" A white rabbit appears on Kirei's shoulder and jumps down. It squeaks and starts to clean its whiskers. It looks up and notices the servants. With a gleam in its eye, it runs at them, becoming a streak of light. It strikes one of the servants and his life points drop to 3300.

"I end my turn by activating Spirit's Invitation! Now when my rabbit returns to my hand, so does a monster on your side of the field!" Kirei says. Her rabbit vanishes and Chimera groans as he shatters. "Since he was a fusion, however, he goes back to the Extra Deck. Without his pieces, you won't be able to Fusion Summon him again!"

One of the servants spit on the ground. "This brat's getting on my nerves." He says. His friend draws. "I think we have a strategy for her." He says. "I summon Small Piece Golem!" The other servant smiles. He picks a card and slaps it down on his duel disk's panel. "Then I summon Medium Piece Golem! And due to their effects, we get to summon another Small Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem to the field!" Four rock creatures break up from the ground, taking their places before their masters.

"Now I use Fusion Recovery. Along with a monster that was used in a fusion, I regain my Polymerization card!" The servant says. "I think I'll use it to fuse one of our Medium Piece Golems and the Big Piece Golem in my hand to summon Multiple Piece Golem!" The two rock creatures from the field and in his hand rise up and are sucked into a portal. With a flash of acceptance, the portal pushes out a larger rock creature. It lands behind the servants, shaking the earth.

The servants laugh. "Not only does he have a large attack..." One says. "We also have two other monsters." The other adds. "And since you have no defense, this game is over!" They both declare. Kirei rubs the back of her head. "Just because there's two of you, it doesn't mean you have to make annoying speeches in turn...you two need to get a life." Her eyes snap open. "Before you lose it!"

"Ha! Make all the threats you want! It's over!" The servant says. "Attack, Multiple Piece Golem!" The large beast pulls back a fist and throws it down on Kirei. Kirei throws out a hand. "I activate Negate Attack! Your attack is stopped, and the battle phase is over!" The servants groan and sneer. "Fine, then. We end our turn." One says. "But since our Golem attacked, we can separate him into the pieces that made him." The other says. The Golem growls and falls into pieces. The pieces collect, forming two new creatures.

Kirei rolls her eyes and draws. "You Avodah Zara nerds never seem to get it!" She huffs. She looks at the card she drew and smiles. "I use Monster Controller!" She declares. "With this, I take possession of your Big Piece Golem! Then I sacrifice it to summon Dark Dust Spirit! And he has a special ability!" Her Dust Spirit forms from a small vortex of dust. He growls and throws out his hands. The vortex expands and swallows up the Piece Golems. They all groan and shatter.

"Now I activate Spiritual Energy Settle Machine! This will keep my Dust Spirit around so he can attack you every turn -- like this!" She says. The Dark Dust Spirit throws down its hands and a blast of wind tears up the ground. It throws up a wall of dust, which knocks down one of the servants. His life points drop to 1100. Kirei smiles and looks over at Yuudai. "You okay, bro?" She asks.

"Yeah." He says with a nod. "For now." He adds under his breath. He looks up at the servant's S.O. Eel, which was huge now. It's attack points were 3400 and the Incubator was teaming with cells. "I need to summon monsters to protect myself. But it grows in strength every time I do summon. Also, as it grows stronger, it can destroy my defenses all the easier." He thinks. Yuudai draws and looks at his hand. "I use Solar Exchange! By discarding a Lightsworn monster from my hand, I can draw two cards and then I must discard two cards from the top of my deck!" He says. "Then I put a monster face-down and set a card. With that I end my turn."

The servant laughs. "Running low on defenses, Yuudai?" He asks. He draws. "Soon you won't have any! Because now I use S.O. Pupa!" His Eel hisses and curls up. It regurgitates a purple, syrupy liquid and drips it all over itself. Soon, it was nothing more than a fleshy mass. "Now, I put eight S.G. Cell Counters onto it." The servant says. The Incubator dumps out its load and the cells crawl along the ground. They crawl onto the pupa and burrow through the outside membrane and into it. The servant laughs. "Soon you will meet my ultimate creature. In three turns, a beast that has never been summoned before will come out of that Pupa."

Yuudai smirks. "If it lasts that long." He draws and looks at the card. He holds it up. "I use Different Dimension Capsule." Yuudai says. "In two turns, I will gain a card of my choosing from my deck." "If you last that long." The servant says with a smile. Yuudai smiles back. "I intend to." He says. He throws out a hand. "I now activate the trap Beckoning Light! By discarding my entire hand, it's effect allows me to bring as many LIGHT monsters from my grave to my hand equal to as many cards I discarded!" He discards his hand and the graveyard slot slips out a number of cards. He holds one of the cards. "Now I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner!" The young woman rises before him and flourishes her hands. "With her effect, I summon Wulf, Lightsworn Beast." The wolf being rose beside Lumina and gripped his staff, growling angrily. It was as though he remembered his enemies and what they did to him. "Now I'll end my turn."

"More defenses. Will you ever learn?" The servant asks with a laugh. He holds out the card he drew. "I summon Cyto Warrior!" He says. A hunched over man appears before the servant. He was covered in armor and armed with a long, curved sword. The only odd thing about him was his glossy purple skin. The servant holds up a card. "Now I equip him with the monster S.O. Anopla!" A parasite crawls up the back of Cyto Warrior and pierces its skull with a tentacle. "This monster injects an S.O. Cell into Cyto Warrior, which gives it the ability to automatically destroy one monster on the field for each Counter I remove from him." The servant says.

From Cyto warrior's chest, a cell fires out and attaches to Wulf. The cell grows six spiked legs and grips his flesh. It flashes and then explodes, taking Wulf with it. "Now attack Lumina, Cyto Warrior!" The servant says. The warrior dashes at Lumina, slashing her across the chest with his sword. Lumina cries out and explodes.

Yuudai smiles at him calmly. "What's going on here?" The servant asks, searching him with his eyes. "How come you didn't receive any damage?" "That's because I used Defense Draw." Yuudai says, gesturing to the hologram of his trap. "All damage done to me by this attack becomes 0, and I get to draw one card." He explains as he draws. He draws again for his turn. "Now I'll activate Hand Destruction! We both discard two cards and then get to draw two new cards." He says. He picks a card from his hand. "And now I summon Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!" His disciple rose to the field and drew his sword with a loud, metallic ring. Yuudai smiles. "And since there's another in the grave, I get to choose an attribute. Whenever the Disciple on the field attacks a monster of that attribute, it is destroyed no matter how powerful it is! And I choose to attack your Pupa!" His Disciple grips his sword with both hands and charges at the pupa.

The servant shakes his head. "Not this time! I use my Anopla's Effect! By sacrificing it, I can negate one attack and attach a Cell Counter to the attacking monster!" He says. "Then I'll end my turn." Yuudai says.

The servant draws. He slips a card into his duel disk's slot. "I set a card and end my turn." Yuudai raises an eyebrow. "He's eager to hatch that monster of his." Yuudai thinks. "I have to destroy it." He draws and points. "Now my Capsule's effect resolves!" A card forms in his hand as the capsule collapses. "I now sacrifice my Disciple to summon my Gragonith!" His dragon roars and lands behind him, folding his wings at his sides. "And he gains attack points for every Lightsworn in my grave." Yuudai adds. His dragon roars and grows in size as his attack rises to 3800. "And with a face-down, I end my turn."

"You have a death wish, it seems." The servant says. He draws. "Now behold the birth of my ultimate creature!" With a loud rip, the pupa splits open. Something pushes and bulges out of the seam. Mucus and fluids spill out onto the field as the thing rose. It falls onto its column-like front legs and pulls the rest of itself out of the pupa. "Behold! The SuperOrganism!" The beast threw back its head and gave a roar. Purple foam pours from its mouth as it did.

"Watch as my beast infects the whole field with Cell Counters!" The servant declares. "For each he gains 500 attack points. And every time it attacks and destroys an infected monster, it gains 300 additional attack points. If that's not bad enough, it is not affected by effects that target him! So go, my beast! Wreak havoc on my opponent!"

The servant waits. He looks up at Gragonith. Nothing happened. Gragonith remains unaffected and his monster's attack didn't rise. "Why isn't anything happening?" He demands. "It's because of the card my Capsule gave me. With your pompous speech, how could you think I wouldn't prepare for your 'ultimate beast's' arrival?" A hologram of the card flips up. It was a card called Vanquishing Light. "Impossible!" The servant says as he stares at the trap. "My monster is not affected!" "True, when he is successfully summoned. But he isn't on the field. Not when I activated it. See, when you summon a creature, I can negate its summoning and destroy it if I sacrifice one Lightsworn monster from my side of the field."

Gragonith flashes and then evaporates. SuperOrganism does as well. The servant cries out in dismay as he watches his monster disappear. He glares at Yuudai. "How dare you! I'll make you pay! Now that you're wide open, I have my Cyto Warrior attack!" His warrior dashes at Yuudai again. He hits into something half-way and bounces off. "What is it _now_?" The servant exclaims. Yuudai smiles. "I had a Necro Gardna in the grave. With his effect, like your Anopla, I can sacrifice him to negate an attack."

Yuudai closes his eyes. "It seems you've underestimated me. Just like your friends. And just like them, you will suffer the ultimate price." He draws a card. "I activate the trap known as Glorious Illusion! This allows me to summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner to the field from the grave!" Lumina rises and crosses her arms. Her hands become wreath in pure white flames. "With her effect, I summon Jain from the graveyard as well!" Yuudai says. Jain rises beside Lumina and points his sword at the servant. It glows in a yellow light as did his eyes. Yuudai throws out a hand. "Now I sacrifice Lumina to summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel! And when she is summoned, I can destroy two cards on the field!" Jain glows hot white and explodes into a shower of light. Celestia rises from his shattered remains and holds her javelin aloft with a cry. The servant's Cyto Warrior explodes along with the servant's Incubator. "No!" The servant cries.

"Attack, Celestia!" Yuudai declares. Celestia throws her spear. The servant groans as the javelin buries itself in the ground behind him. "Now finish him off, Jain." Yuudai says. Jain crouches and jumps high into the air. With his sword held high, he hammered it down on the servant as he landed. The servant cries out loud falls to his knees. He trembles and hugs himself tight. Throwing his arms out and screaming to the sky, he evaporates and a young man was left in his place. The young man falls flat on his face and lays still.

The dome fades and Yuudai deactivates his duel disk. He looks over his shoulder at Kirei. The dome around her fell away as well. "How are you doing?" Yuudai asks. Kirei pants and gives him a thumbs-up. "Just fine, bro. I'm finished too." She comes over as she deactivates her duel disk. "Seems you did good yourself, bro." She adds. Yuudai goes over to the body and runs his hands along his thighs. "Nothing." He murmurs. "No keypasses." Kirei raises an eyebrow. "No keypasses? How's that work? How could they possibly get out of the city without keypasses?"

Yuudai shakes his head. "I don't know. But it seems their master is stronger than I supposed if they can get passed the barrier without keypasses." Yuudai looks up and he freezes. He stands and slowly turns to Kirei. "Where are the others?" Kirei's eyes widen and she looks around. "I...I...I don't know!" She exclaims. Yuudai looks at he cave. "Hitomi." He says. He starts running to the cave.

A blue light flashes in the cave mouth. With another flash, the cave is ripped apart. Yuudai stops in his tracks. He blocks himself with his arms as a shockwave of wind hits him. Kirei resists too, but is knocked onto her back and starts to blow away. She twists onto her stomach and grips the ground. She scrunches her face against the biting sand. "Yuudai!" She cries over the wind. Yuudai grits his teeth and his eyes flash. "Hitomi." He thinks to himself, imagining Hitomi at the mercy of the Avodah Zara. He looks up at the cave. His eyes widen and the light leaves them.

A pillar of light shoots up from the crater. It arches and bends down towards Yuudai. It glared at him with two eyes bright like stars. Opening a long mouth, it lets out a roar and rises higher, piercing the smog of the sky. Yuudai watches it in pure awe. "What is that thing?" He asks. The pillar of light shrinks down to the width of a thread before vanishing. The hole in the smog closes up and all seems as though nothing had taken place. Yuudai lowers his arms and continues to stare where he had seen the beast.

Kirei groans and pushes herself off of the ground. "Bro? What happened? What was that thing?" Yuudai shakes his head. "I don't know." He says. "But whatever it was...it was powerful...very powerful." Kirei comes to his side and stares up at the sky. "The only time I've seen something like that was with you back at that library, bro."

Yuudai blinks and looks at the crater where the cave once was. He starts running for it and Kirei follows close behind. Yuudai comes to the lip of the crater and looks down. He gasps and slides down to the bottom. There, Hitomi lay unconscious. She wasn't harmed in the slightest and looked as if she were only in sleep. Yuudai kneels at her side and grabs her wrist. Kirei joins him and bends over him, looking over his shoulder at Hitomi. "Is she okay, bro?" She asks. "Yes. She's alive." He says as he lets go of her wrist. Kirei stands straight and puts her hands on her hips. "I don't see those other two servants anywhere." Kirei says as she looks around.

"I doubt they would survive something like that." Yuudai says. Kirei looks down at him. "What do you make of it, bro?" She asks. "I think..." Yuudai says with a sigh. "...That, like us, she's been keeping something to herself." Kirei gives him a strange look. "What are you saying?" She asks. Yuudai takes Hitomi in his arms and rises. "We have much to learn about Hitomi." He says. He walks off and starts to trudge up the side of the crater. Kirei scratches her head. "I think you're the one keeping something to yourself, bro! And you're confusing me!" She yells after him. All she got was a laugh as a response. She shakes her head and runs after him.

Ω

Kirei pulls open a rusty door and Yuudai jumps into the bus. He leans to one side to keep balanced on the tilted floor. Kirei climbs in after him and closes the door behind her. Yuudai lays Hitomi on one of the bench seats. She moans and turns over, snoring softly. Yuudai unzips his coat and slips it off. He lays it on her and pulls it up over her shoudler.

Meanwhile, Kirei was busy building a fire. She blows on some smoldering embers and the fire crackles to life. She sits back and holds her hands up to the fire. "That's better." She says. Yuudai joins her, sitting beside her. Kirei smiles at him. "Get closer, bro. You could get sick from walking in the rain." When he doesn't answer, or even look at her, Kirei frowns. "Bro? You okay?" She asks. Yuudai looks up at her. "Hm? Oh, yes. I'm fine." He says, ruffling his hair. The fire hissed as drips of water hit it. "I'm just thinking." "About?" Kirei asks. Yuudai chuckles. It was weak and faded quickly as he stared into the flames.

Kirei stares at him worriedly. Yuudai's gaze doesn't move from the fire as he speaks. "I felt something when I saw that creature." Kirei smiles sympathetically. "It's okay to feel scared, bro. Even I was scared of that thing." Yuudai looks at her and smiles. "I was afraid, I don't have trouble admitting that, but I felt something else too." He looks back at the fire. His hand creeps up to his chest. His hand clenches, grabbing a fistful of his black shirt. "Right here, I felt it. I can't even explain what _it_ was." Kirei looks down at his hand and back up at his face. She furrows her eyebrows.

"Yuudai? Kirei?" Came a soft moan.

Both turn to see Hitomi looking at them from where she lay. "Where are we?" She asks. "What happened?" Yuudai smiles. "That's what we'd like to know." Hitomi blinks. Her hand slips out from under the coat and covers her mouth. "Did you see..." She murmured. "...did you see anything?" "A large creature." Yuudai says. "Like a serpent." He noticed that Hitomi flinched when he said that. She shivers and begins to weep. "Not again." She repeats over and over.

Yuudai exchanges glances with Kirei. "This has happened before?" Kirei asks. Hitomi nods. With a sharp breath she opens her eyes. "I've been hiding something from you two. I feel ashamed, so I'm going to tell you what you saw." She sniffs and looks up at them. "It happened ten years ago, when I was a small child. My family and I were on a plane trip returning home when the plane suddenly exploded." Hitomi bites her lip and looks away. After a length she continues with a cracked voice. "They didn't survive. All of them. Everyone died except for me. All I remember was waking up on a beach. Something was standing over me, I realized. I looked up and saw a huge serpent leaning over me. As soon as I saw it, it faded away."

Hitomi looks at them again. "Since then I've lived alone. I avoided people and they avoided me. They always said I was weird or odd. Sometimes I even think the beast wants me to be alone. It would do things to scare people off..." Hitomi sniffles. "It's inside me and I can't control it...but sometimes it controls me." "Like in the cave?" Yuudai asks. Hitomi nods. "That's why I need you, Yuudai. That's why I asked for your help. I don't need you to protect me from the Avodah Zara...I need you to protect me from myself. I knew a strong duelist like you could shield me from harm...so it would never come out. And now that I know you have your power, Yuudai, I know in my heart that you are the only one who can truly help me." Hitomi tears up as she stares into Yuudai's eyes. "You don't know what it's like...to wake up among corpses...to live alone and be hunted for something that you can't control or ask to have." Her voice breaks an forces her to stop.

Kirei wipes her eyes and looks at Yuudai. Yuudai stares at Hitomi, unmoving and emotionless. Hitomi trembles and brings her hands together. "Forgive me, Yuudai. I know this is a big responsibility and I won't blame you if you want me to leave. If I can't remain with you, then just please forgive me for hiding my secret from you. Please. I'll do anything to gain your forgiveness." Yuudai's lips curl into a crafty smile. "Anything?" Hitomi nods. "Anything." He leans back and cushions his head with his hands. "Then dry up." He says. He eyes her. "I'm not going to toss you out."

Hitomi's eyes widen. Her lips quiver as she asks, "r-really, Yuudai? Then you forgive me?" Yuudai winks at her. "Of course. Right Kirei?" Kirei laughs and nods. "Like I said before, us Wasters look out for one another." Hitomi looks in their eyes. Her face contorts and she brings her hands to her face. "Thank you! Both of you! I don't know what to say! Only that you two are the best!" She wails. She cries out loud without restraint.

"I know." Yuudai says. Kirei giggles. Hitomi gasps as her vision turns red. "Here." She hears Yuudai's voice. She reaches out and runs her fingers on the soft cloth before her. She takes it and looks at Yuudai. He was smiling -- sincerely. Kirei was too. Hitomi's eyes swell with more tears, but she dabs at them with the cloth and gives a weak laugh. "Thank you." She says. "I feel as though...I have a new family."

Kirei laughs. "Family? Face it kid, you're stuck with us even if you felt like we were the annoying second cousins!" She says. Hitomi giggles. Soon the whole bus was filled with their laughter. There was even a faint chuckle from Yuudai.

--

**Cards Featured**

Name: S.O. Zoan

Level Stars: 2

Attribute: Dark

Type: Fiend/Effect

Lore: This card cannot be normal summoned or flip summoned. This card can only be special summoned by removing two S.O. Cell Counters from the field.

ATK: 300

DEF: 200

--

Name: Cell Daughter

Level Stars: 4

Attribute: Dark

Type: Spellcaster/Effect

Lore: When this card is normal summoned, put one S.O. Cell Counter on it.

ATK: 1400

DEF: 1600

--

Name: S.O. Eel

Level Stars: 4

Attribute: Dark

Type: Fiend/Effect

Lore: This card cannot be normal summoned or flip summoned. This card can only be special summoned by removing four S.O. Cell Counters from the field. This monster gains 100 attack points for every S.O. Counter on the field.

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1000

--

Name: S.O. Pupa

Level Stars: 3

Attribute: Dark

Type: Fiend/Effect

Lore: his card cannot be normal summoned or flip summoned. This card can only be special summoned by sacrificing on S.O. monster on your side of the field. On your third standby phase, sacrifice this card and special summon to the field, from you hand, deck or graveyard, a monster with S.O. in its name or one "SuperOrganism" whose level stars equal the number of S.O. Cell Counters on this card.

ATK: 0000

DEF: 2000

--

Name: Cyto Warrior

Level Stars: 4

Attribute: Dark

Type: Warrior/Effect

Lore: By removing one S.O. Counter from the field, destroy one monster on the field. This effect can only be used once per turn.

ATK: 1700

DEF: 1300

--

Name: S.O. Anopla

Level Stars: 3

Attribute: Dark

Type: Fiend/Effect

Lore: This monster can be special summoned from your hand to the field. When special summoned in this way, it is placed in the spell and trap card zone, equipped to a monster on the field. The equipped monster gains one S.O. Cell Counter. When the owner of this card would receive battle damage, by sacrificing this card the damage becomes 0.

ATK: 500

DEF: 600

--

Name: SuperOrganism

Level Stars: 8

Attribute: Dark

Type: Fiend/Effect

Lore: This monster cannot be normal summoned or flip summoned. This monster cannot be special summoned except by the effect of S.O. Pupa. When this monster is special summoned, put one S.O. Counter on every monster on the field. This monster cannot be targeted by the effects of spell, trap or monster effect cards. This card gains 500 attack points for every S.O. Cell Counter on the field. If this card destroys a monster with a S.O. Cell Counter on it in battle, it gains 300 attack points.

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1500

--

Name: S.O. Cell Incubator

Spell Type: Continuous

Lore: The owner of this card does not receive direct damage as long as this card remains on the field. When this card is activated, put one S.O. Cell Counter on it. Every time a monster is summoned, put one S.O. Counter on this card.

--

Name: Mitosis

Spell Type: Normal

Lore: Select one card on the field that has a S.O. Cell Counter on it. Add one more S.O. Cell Counter to that card.

--

Name: Binary Fission

Spell Type: Normal

Lore: you can only activate this card if you have a "S.O. Cell Incubator" active on your side of the field. Tribute one monster on your side of the field and put one S.O. Cell Counter on your "S.O. Cell Incubator" times the number of level stars on the tributed monster.

--

Name: Malignant Tumor

Trap Type: Normal

Lore: Activate when your opponent's monster attacks a monster with "S.O." in its name. Put an S.O. Cell Counter on the monster that attacked times the destroyed monster's number of level stars. Destroy the monster if the S.O. Cell Counters from this effect are removed.


	6. The Great Race

**Chapter Six: The Great Race**

Yuudai kneels down and cups some water in his hand. He splashes it on his face and spreads it on his neck. Flicking away the rest, he looks across the water. Kirei joins him and mimics him. "What is that?" Hitomi asks as she stares. "That's Owari Isle." Yuudai says. He wraps his red cloth around his mouth. "It's the drop-off point for Domino." Hitomi shakes her head. "I already don't like it. Just looking at it I get a chill."

Yuudai rises. "As you should. It's a center for criminals of all forms." "Bounty hunters, pirates, gang leaders -- you name it, they've got it." Kirei adds as she takes off her shoes and slips her feet into the water. She smiles and tilts her face to the sky. "Ah." She says. "I almost forgot how much I hate traveling."

"So criminals are there?" Hitomi asks. "Then you guys will be right at home, huh?" She giggles. It fades as she looks at Yuudai. The young man met her eyes with a cold stare. "That is not funny." He states flatly. Hitomi looks down at Kirei. She was looking up at her, her lips curved in a frown. Hitomi bows her head. "I'm sorry. That was done in bad taste."

Yuudai's eyes stray from her and to the ground. "Never mind." He says. He looks back up at the town across the small expanse of water. Hitomi brings a hand to her eyes and rubs at them. "Why are we going there, Yuudai? If it is as dangerous as it seems." Hitomi asks softly. "Keypasses. Why else?" Yuudai says. "There are many floating around in the black market. Officers stop here at times as well. We have a greater chance of collecting the seven keypasses in this town than anywhere else in the Wasteland."

Yuudai eyes Hitomi, who was looking down at the ground. He reaches out and tilts her head back by the chin. "Chin up." He says. Hitomi smiles and nods. Yuudai looks down at Kirei and puts his hands on his hips. "When you are through, Miss Hasu, we will continue." Kirei looks at him and her face crinkles in a laugh. "Don't you _dare_ rush me! And don't call me Miss Hasu!" The red-head shudders. "It makes me feel old!"

--

Kirei presses a foot down on a wood plank. It creaks and she jumps back. With a shake of her head, she looks back at Yuudai. "This thing is still as old as the last time we've used it. In fact, I bet it hasn't improved with age." Yuudai eyes the bridge. His eyes shift and flicker, examining it. At the end was the town, floating in a pond of mist. Yuudai looks at the two girls. "I'll go first." He says. Hitomi shakes her head and Kirei nods hers. Yuudai chuckles. "Don't worry, Hitomi. I can swim." With that, he walks up to the bridge and steps out onto it. The bridge creaks, but remains firm.

"Just follow my footsteps." He says. He continues walking and Kirei turns to Hitomi. "You next, kid." She says. Hitomi swallows hard and nods. She looks down at her feet and tries to remember where Yuudai had stepped down. She eases a foot down and tests the plank. With a smile, she put her full weight on it. The board creaks and she freezes. Nothing happens. She sighs, placing a hand on her racing heart.

"Well don't be eternity about it, kid." Kirei says with a chuckle. "You're still over the shore!" Hitomi giggles. "Sorry. I'm just a bit nervous. I don't..." She stops and eyes the water. She licks her lips and looks up along the bridge. Yuudai stood there, staring back at her. "Here I go." She says.

Hitomi walks along and soon becomes more confident. The boards would groan or creak as she walked, but nothing actually happened. She smiles, standing tall. The bridge groans ad sways a bit. Hitomi stumbles and hugs the railing. "Don't worry." Yuudai says. "This part of the bridge is floating on barrels." Hitomi looks down between the planks and sees the large steel barrels beneath her. She smiles and stands straight. Walking again, she smiles at Yuudai. "It's not that bad." She says. She was within an arm's reach of Yuudai when a board under her feet broke. Hitomi screams as she falls through. With a splash, she finds herself deep underwater. It was dark and cold. Seeing the light at the surface, she swims up to the surface.

When she surfacea, she finds herself in the middle of the ocean. Rain falls on her face from the clouds above. She rises and falls with the waves. Hitomi panics and treads water. "Help!" She screams. "Mom! Dad!" A wave knocks her under with a hiss. Salt water fills her mouth, but she closes it quickly before more enters. She scrambles to the surface again, spitting out the water and weeping bitterly. "Someone please...!"

Another wave knocks her under. This time, she went deeper. Her arms were tired and they burned like fire. Hitomi sinks, unable to swim back to the surface of the ocean. Deep down, she almost fells unwilling. The glistening surface above her suddenly turns black. Hitomi stares up with wide eyes and open mouth. The eyes without a face were before her again. A roar fills her ears and the eyes come closer.

"Hitomi." A voice comes from the eyes. Hitomi moans back to it. The eyes close and Hitomi is left in complete darkness. "Hitomi." The voice says again, louder this time. Hitomi opens her eyes. Everything around her was blurry. Even so, she could still recognize the fiery eyes of Yuudai looking down at her. Hitomi starts to cry. "I saw it." She sobs. She feels a hand brush the bangs from her face. "It's okay, kid." Hitomi looks to her left and sees Kirei kneeling beside her. Hitomi sniffs and brings a hand to her eyes. "I saw it again."

Yuudai pulls Hitomi into his arms and stands. "Hush now." He says. There was a tone of authority in his words, as well as pity. Hitomi nods and curls into him. He looks at Kirei and she shakes her head. "She saw it? The serpent?" Yuudai nods. He looks at the town. "Come on. We're almost there." He says. He starts walking again and Kirei follows.

--

Hitomi looks around at the buildings, nestled in Yuudai's arms. All the windows were broken and the doors were left open, giving the houses the appearance of empty skulls. Hitomi shudders. "What a horrible place." She moans. Yuudai nods. "Full of horrible people." He looks down at her. "I want you to promise me something." Hitomi looks up at him. She could tell by his eyes that he was serious. She had come to learn that promises with Yuudai were as binding as life and death. "Yes, Yuudai?"

"Promise that as long as we are here that you will remain with either me or Kirei." Yuudai says. He looks up at the houses. "This is a dangerous place." Hitomi nods. "I promise, Yuudai."

Yuudai stops before an archway between two buildings. Above it, a sign dangles by a chain on it's corner. The sign had written on it: Owari Tavern, abandon hope all ye who enter here. Kirei comes up beside Yuudai. "I can't think of a more pleasant invitation." She says. Without a word, Yuudai enters and descends the brick staircase beyond. Once he rounded a corner on the curved stair, he set Hitomi down. Hitomi looks down the stairs, just able to hear laughter echoing up from below.

"Remember our promise." Yuudai says, looking down at her. Hitomi nods to him. Yuudai descends the stairs and Hitomi keeps close behind him, with Kirei close behind her. They come to another archway, which led to a large hall filled with tables and men who sat at them. All the men had large tankards in their hands, filled to the rim with brown liquid. They laugh and strike their tankards together repeatedly. Obviously, their slurred words were some form of toast.

Yuudai didn't so much as slow down at the archway. He walks right into the midst of them, snaking his way around the tables. Hitomi looks around timidly, unaware that her hand had crept up and taken a a hold of Yuudai's shirt. The men turn in their seats and stare at them as they pass. Hitomi turns away and closes her eyes. Whistles arose from the watchers, but they die out as Kirei turns a chilling glare on them.

Yuudai stops at a bar in the back. He leans on the long table and eyes the tender as he wipes a glass with a rag. Hitomi slides into a seat next to Yuudai, still holding his shirt as she looks around. Kirei leans back on the table and crosses her legs. The tender shivers and turns, flinching seeing Yuudai staring at him. With a cough, he straightens his collar and comes over.

"Well. What can I do for you young folk?" He asks. Yuudai reaches into his pocket. "We need a room." He states flatly. The tender eyes them and nods. "Well, that will be about twenty yen for the first night and five for every night after that." Yuudai's eyes narrow and his hands stops searching in his pocket. "That's a bit much for a single room in a tavern. Especially in these parts."

The bartender shrugs. "That's our prices. If you don't like it, you can find somewhere else..." "If I don't like it, you'll lower the prices." Yuudai interrupts. The tone in his voice tore Hitomi's attention from the rest of the room and back to him. The tender stares into Yuudai's eyes and begins to shake.

"Seven yen is all I'm paying..." Yuudai finishes. He pulls out his hand and scatters some coins onto the table. Yuudai stands straight, his eyes still locked on the bartender's. "See you in the morning." He says. He turns and walks away. Still holding his shirt, Hitomi is pulled along with him. Kirei stands and gives a short wave to the bartender. "Nice doing business with you!" She says before following Yuudai.

Yuudai ascends a flight of wooden stairs on the side of the tavern, which let to a hall lined with doors. Yuudai picks the first door to his right and opens it. It had two beds and a small table by the window. "Perfect." He mutters. He holds the door open and lets Hitomi and Kirei in first. Hitomi goes over to a bed and presses her hand into it. She smiles. "It has been such a long time since I've slept in a bed."

"Look after Hitomi, Kirei." Yuudai says. He turns and heads out the door. Hitomi wheels around. "Wait! Where are you going?" Yuudai's head pops back into the room. "To listen." With that, he vanishes. Hitomi looks at Kirei. "What does he mean?" She asks. Kirei closes the door and locks it. "News spreads by word of mouth around here. Whenever we come to a town with people in it, Yuudai sits back and listens." Kirei goes over to a dresser and slides out a drawer. While she searches inside, Hitomi sits on the bed. "What does he listen for?"

"He listens to see if the town is safe to stay in. He also listens for information." Kirei looks back at her and grins. "You'd be surprised what you can find out in a place like this. As Yuudai says: wine lets out the truth." Kirei blinks and turns rapidly. "Up!" She exclaims. Hitomi hops off the bed, eyes wide. "You're soaking wet! You need to change before getting into bed!"

Hitomi looks around and back at Kirei. "Change into what?" Kirei reaches into the drawer and pulls up a pair of striped pajama pants.

--

Yuudai pulls a seat away from a table and sits down. He digs his heel into the floor and the chair tilts back until it hits the wall. Crossing his arms, he eyes the men around him. They continue to laugh and talk in raised voices. Yuudai closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Something catches his attention and he eyes a pair of men at a table. He focuses and separates their voices from the cacophony.

"You going to enter the race tomorrow?" The man asks his friend. The other shakes his head. "No way. Those races are too tough. I lost an uncle in one of them races! I'm not risking my neck for 750 yen and a lousy pack of cards!" The first man points at his friend with his glass. "Well I'm going to watch. It's fun watching some weak out-of-towner crack up!" They both laughs and tap their tankards together before taking a drink. Yuudai shakes his head and closes his eyes.

Yuudai looks at the entrance of the tavern as gasps fill the air. A tall muscular man was standing in the archway. He ran a hand on his bald head and took a deep breath. "Ah." He says without a smile. "Fear." He walks into the room and all the men in his path dive to get out of his way, going as far as moving the tables. Yuudai watches him and notes the eagle tattoo on his arm.

The man comes to the bar and waves for the bartender. They exchange a few words and the tender nods and goes about getting him a drink. The man turns and leans on the table, looking around at the drunken men. He looked very much like an eagle; with penetrating brown eyes and a hooked nose. He grunts as he hears a glass being set down gingerly behind him. He turns and grabs the glass. With a sneer, he looks up at the bartender.

"Is that all?" He grumbles. The tender bends down and comes up with a bottle. He offers it to the man and he snatches it out of his hands. "That's more like it." He says.

"Tender, this drink is on me."

The man turns about with a growl. Seeing Yuudai, the man smirks. "Ha." He laughs dryly. "That's a joke. I can pay for my own beer, kid." The man throws his hand back and breaks the neck of the bottle against the bar counter. He brings the jagged top to his mouth and takes a long draught. Yuudai goes to the bar and turns on his heel and lets himself fall back. He leans on the bar and eyes the man. "You're searching for The Legend, aren't you?"

The man's eyes widen. "How did you know?" Yuudai eyes his arm. "Your tattoo. You're one of the notorious Raptors, aren't you?" The man chuckles and takes another drink. "I'm the leader of the Raptors. My employer felt there was no reason to fool around with The Legend." The man looks at Yuudai, his eyes were cold and intense. "Do you know where he is?" The man asks. Yuudai looks away from him and stares at the men around them. They were quiet now, eyeing the two of them. Yuudai smiles under the cloth as he hears the man grinding his teeth.

"I do." Yuudai finally says. "But this is not the place to speak of it, though." He looks askance at the man. He nods and brings the broken bottle back to his lips. He inhales the last of the drink and sets it down on the counter. "Let's go then." Yuudai stands and nods to the exit. "Then follow me." The man pays for his drink and follows Yuudai.

Stepping out into the street, Yuudai waits for the man to come out. "Well?" The man says as he comes out of the archway. "Where is The Legend?" The sound of cracking knuckles come to Yuudai's ears. "And remember this kid: if I find out you lied to me, I will hunt you down and turn you in dead or alive!"

Yuudai chuckles. "Don't worry, my friend. I'm going to tell you the absolute truth." Yuudai turns to the man and his face creases in concern. Yuudai's eyes were intense. There almost seemed to be a light deep within his pupils. "I want a good reward for this." Yuudai states.

"Just tell me where he is." The man growls. Yuudai watches him drop his hands at his sides. Yuudai chuckles and opens his arms. "Allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine: Yuudai Chiyo -- The Legend." The man's eyes widen and his mouth slowly drops. "You! You!" He shrieks. Yuudai throws back his head and laughs. "Me! Me!"

The man sneers and jumps back, grabbing something from his belt. Yuudai leans to the side and a gun goes off. He spins and lashes out with his foot. The man stumbles back and into a wall. He looks down at Yuudai, who had the blade of his duel disk pointed at his throat. His chapped lips curl. "What are you going to do with that? Duel me?"He chuckles. He goes rigid feeling something sharp prick his throat. Yuudai raises the point of his duel disk so the man could see the dark red film that coated it. A red bead drips off and onto the hunter's shirt. The man's eyes stray from the razor-edged duel disk and down at Yuudai. His eyes were alive like two small flames.

"Some bounty hunter." Yuudai says snidely. The man sneers and his nostrils flare. Yuudai raises his other hand and turns it upward. The bounty hunter glances at his hand and closes his eyes. "I'm waiting." Yuudai says. The man glances at his eyes and puts his gun in Yuudai's hand. Yuudai casts it aside and it clatters in the shadows.

"Well." The bounty hunter says. "What do you want?" A snicker filters out from Yuudai's red cloth. "Keypasses. The ones you used to get out of Domino City with. I'm feeling generous, so I'm willing to duel you for them. It would give you a fighting chance. It's the least I can do."

The bounty hunter smiles. "Do you know about the race tomorrow?" Yuudai nods. "Be there." The bounty hunter says. "It's a Turbo Duel Race. If you win, I will give you my keypasses." Yuudai's eyes narrow. "And if I lose?" He asks. The bounty hunter smiles. "Then I get to bring you in and collect my award."

Yuudai stares at him, unmoving. He then lowers his arm and extends his hand. "Deal." The bounty hunter takes his hand and shakes. Both grip until their knuckles turn white. The hunter locks eyes with Yuudai. "Deal." He says. They let go and Yuudai walks around him and back into the tavern.

--

Yuudai opens the door and enters the room. He stops and smiles. Hitomi and Kirei were sitting in bed with a pile of candy between them and poker cards fanned in their hands. Kirei sets her cards down. "Beat that." Hitomi looks at her cards and then Kirei's. She giggles and shows her hand. Kirei groans as Hitomi pulls the pile of candy closer to herself.

"Having fun?" Yuudai asks. Kirei looks up and smiles. "Hey, bro!" She gives a sheepish grin. "We're playing poker." Yuudai comes in and closes the door. "I see that." He walks across the room and takes a seat at the table. "Who's winning?" He asks. Hitomi stifles a laugh and squeezes her eyes shut. Kirei eyes her and sighs. "Hitomi."

Yuudai pulls off his cloth. "I knew that." Yuudai says with a smile. "I just wanted to hear you say it." Hitomi bursts out laughing. Kirei turns red in the face. "Well I'm a good duelist!" She protests. "Just don't have the luck, is all!"

"I know that. Just having a bit of fun with you, Kirei." Yuudai says. He rests his feet on the table and cushions his head with his hands. "Besides, if you ran on luck alone, you wouldn't be half the duelist you are. And I wouldn't have anyone else to duel by my side other than you."

Kirei curls and brings a hand up to her face. "Oh, bro! There you go getting me all mushy!" Yuudai laughs a bit and looks out the window. "So how did things go? Find anything interesting?" Hitomi asks as she pops a piece of gum into her mouth. Yuudai nods. "A bounty hunter." He says. Hitomi chokes and swallows. "Bounty hunter?" She asks, clutching at her throat. Yuudai nods. "Yes, a bounty hunter." Kirei smiles and shakes her head. "Alright, bro. What did you do?"

"I'm in a race tomorrow and I'm going to need to borrow your Duel Runner." Yuudai says. "Sure, bro." Kirei says with a nod. She raises and hand and turns her wrist to look at her watch. She presses the face and it blinks. "It'll be here by tomorrow." "Good." Yuudai says with a nod.

"Why are you racing a bounty hunter, Yuudai?" Hitomi asks. Yuudai looks at her. "For keypasses. What else?" Hitomi looks down and grips the blanket in her hands. Her eyes become watery. "Is it worth it?" She asks. Yuudai tilts his head. "It is." Yuudai says after a length. Hitomi moves a bang back behind her ear. She looks back up at Yuudai and smiles. "Just be careful, okay?"

Yuudai smiles back. "I will. I promise." He looks down at the pile of candy. His eyebrows rise. "Is that what I think it is?" Kirei follows his gaze and picks up a candy bar. She nods, holding it up for him to see. Yuudai extends a hand.

--

Hitomi stands with Kirei on the sidelines of the race track. Her breathing quickens and she holds tight to the rail. She leans over it to get a look at the starting line. "Isn't this kind of exciting?" She asks. Kirei shakes her head. "Not really. It's nerve-wracking." Hitomi nods. "Well, yes, that too. But Yuudai's an amazing duelist! He'll win, no problem!" Hitomi waits, but Kirei says nothing. She slowly looks up at Kirei. The red-head was biting her lip. "Kirei? Is there a problem?" Hitomi stands straight. "What's wrong?"

"Do you know the rules of a Turbo Duel?" Kirei asks. Hitomi shakes her head. Kirei sighs. "Well. In a Turbo Duel, you use a card called Speed World. This automatically activates when a Turbo Duel begins. As long as it's in use, duelists can only use Speed Spell cards." Hitomi furrows her eyebrows. "So? What's the problem with that?" Kirei looks at her. Hitomi's eyes widen as her breath catches in her throat. "He doesn't have any Speed Spells in his deck?" Hitomi whispers. Kirei nods. "We realized it as we were coming in." Hitomi shakes her head. "But he's still going to race?" She asks. "He has to." Kirei says. "He made a deal."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice echoes in the stadium. "Welcome to the semi-annual Turbo Race!" The crowd cheers and claps their hands. "This year, we have five duelist attending." The voice continues. The ceiling of the stadium flashes and displays a map. "They will travel through a course with many different land-forms. This would seem easy, but we have asked the duelists to turn off their autopilot, forcing them to duel and ride at the same time!" Hitomi her mouth opens, but no sound comes out. Kirei grips the rail. "Bro." She says.

"Let us welcome our combatants!" From an archway that split the audience in two, five men with their D-Runners come out. Yuudai was with them, walking Kirei's Runner beside him by the handles. On his left arm, his duel disk was replaced by a silver brace and on his head he wore a blue helmet. Hitomi leans over the rail and waves, calling his name, but he doesn't notice her.

"Riders! Mount your Runners!" The speakers yell. Yuudai throws his leg over the back of the bike and sits. He sets the helmet on his head and presses a button on its side. A visor comes down over his eyes. "Activate your Speed Word cards!" Yuudai presses a button on the Runner's dashboard and the screen on it flashes.

"Get ready!"

Yuudai eyes the rider next to him. It was the bounty hunter. He notices Yuudai and nods to him. Yuudai nods back and turns his attention to the course.

"Get set!"

Hitomi slips her arm through Kirei's and holds tight. "Kirei." She chokes. Kirei pats her arm and looks on. "It's okay, kid. Yuudai will make it." Hitomi squints her eyes.

"Go!"

The riders bolt off, leaving the stadium through an opening and raising a cloud of dirt behind them. Hitomi closes her eyes as the cloud envelopes them. She coughs and opens her eyes. Yuudai, and the other riders, where nowhere to be seen. She follows Kirei's gaze up to the monitor above.

Yuudai watches the path as it twists and winds. He and the other duelists swerve around each other, forcing each other out of the way. The path suddenly splits into three, vanishing into a forest. All the riders split and take different paths. Yuudai's eyes flicker down as something flashes on the Runner's dashboard screen. The numbers one and five and between shuffle on the screen. Yuudai raises an eyebrow and presses the button below the shuffling numbers. The numbers stop and a number five flashes on the screen.

"Congratulations," an electronic voice voice says, "you are in fifth in dueling order." Yuudai groans. "Wonderful."

"I'll go first!" The rider ahead of him declares. "I summon..." He hits a tree and the bike explodes. Yuudai swerves to the side as the flames lick at his arm. He moves back into the center of the path, narrowly missing a low-hanging tree branch.

"Having fun yet?"

Yuudai looks down at the screen. On the side were five small boxes, showing the duelists as they rode. The top box was nothing but snow. The second one was the bounty hunter. "If not, you will in a moment. I'm second." He says.

Yuudai chuckles. "I'm afraid it won't be as much fun for you." The bounty hunter smiles. He draws and sets the card in a holder on his brace. "I now summon a monster in face-down defense mode!" He picks a card from the holder. "Then I set one card and end my turn."

Yuudai looks up at the course and sees a fork coming up. He looks back in his mind and remembers seeing the bounty hunter had turned left when the main path first separated. He turns down the left path. He dodges roots and rocks, ducking under branches or fallen trees. Another path merges with his. From this path, a rider comes up behind Yuudai.

"Well!" Says the bounty hunter. "Fancy meeting you here." Yuudai looks back at him. "Yes. Fancy that." He looks down at his screen and chuckles. "And fancy this..." He draws a card. "It's my turn! And I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!"

Kirei taps on the rail and groans. "Come on, bro." She murmurs as she stares up at the monitor. "You can do it." Hitomi says. Hitomi goes rigid feeling a hand slip under her arm. She opens her mouth to scream, but she is dragged back and away from Kirei. "Kirei!" She cries as she is pulled through the crowd, but her voice is drowned out by the voices of the people around her. She pulls and twists against the hand that held her, but the hand only grips harder.

Hitomi was pulled out the back of the crowd. She stumbles as the hand releases her and she holds her arm. Before her was a man dressed in a commando outfit. He was short; the top of his head only came up to her eyes. On one of his arms was a tattoo of a hawk.

The man crosses his arms and flashes a smile. "That's alright. You don't need to thank me." He says cheerfully. Hitomi raises her eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Why would I thank you for dragging me here?" The man gives a pout. "That's kids, for you. You save their life and they give you lip."

Hitomi shakes her head. "Save my life? What are you talking about?" "I just saved you from those two criminals I saw you with!" The man says. Hitomi blinks and then smiles. She shakes her head with a giggle. "You've got them wrong. Yuudai and Kirei are my friends!" Hitomi says. The man sighs and puts his hands in his vest pockets. "Friends, eh?" He turns from her and looks up. "What do you know about your friends?" Hitomi frowns and tilts her head to the side. "Enough to trust them!" She says. "Do you?" The man asks. "Do you know them enough to rest your life in their hands? I bet they didn't even tell you why they are in trouble."

"I don't need to know." Hitomi snaps. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my friend. And I will thank you to leave me alone." She starts heading for the crowd. "If you don't, my _friends_ will deal with you!"

"I know about his crime."

Hitomi freezes. She doesn't move for a long time, stopped in mid-stride. "I can tell you about it." She turns back to the man. "His crime? You know about it?" She asks. The man turns back to her and nods. "It seems you're the only one that doesn't know. I guess like all serious criminals, Yuudai would prefer to not speak of it. Especially with his next victim." He gives a smile. "Victim?" Hitomi asks with a shiver.

The man comes over and leans close. "Do you want to know?" He asks. Hitomi trembles and looks away from him. "No. I trust Yuudai." The man sighs and shakes his head. "Don't be gullible. Don't blindly follow someone who hasn't been honest with you. Trust and faith are two different things, pretty one." His grin widens. He laughs through his nose. "Come on. Aren't you even a little bit curious?"

Hitomi bites her lip. She looks over her shoulder at the crowd, thinking of Kirei. "I don't..." "It wouldn't hurt to know the truth. That is, if you trust them as you say." The man says. Hitomi closes her eyes and swallows. "What did he do?" The man leans close and whispers in her ear.

"He's a murderer." He hisses.

Hitomi's breath catches in her throat and her face goes pale. The man chuckles as he backs away. "That's right. He's a murderer." He says. Hitomi stares at him, her body trembling uncontrollably. "He slaughtered some young girl, I believe. Come to think of it, she was around your age." The man continues.

Hitomi brings her hands to her face and shakes her head. "No! I don't believe it!" She sobs. She glares at him. "You're lying to me! Yuudai would never harm anyone!" "It's true, little girl." The man says. "Why do you think he's keeping it from you? And Kirei! That's another one you have to look out for. She's wholly loyal to Yuudai. In fact, she was his accomplice. Helped him get away from the law, she did."

"Stop it!" Hitomi chokes out. She backs away and hugs herself. "Stop it! Leave me alone!" The man gives a friendly smile. "I'm sorry I had to come on so strong. I'm just trying to look out for a fellow human being." He shrugs his shoulders. "If you want to stay with him, that's fine. I just want you to be aware of the truth. However, if you want to leave -- I can help you there." He holds out his hand to her. "What do you say? I can find you a place in Domino City where you'll be happy and safe."

Hitomi looks down at his hand. She looks up at him and shakes her head. "No. I don't believe you!" The man shrugs. "Can't say I didn't try." He says. He turns and starts to walk away. "If you change your mind, I'll be at the exit." Hitomi turns back to the crowd and pushes her way through. "I don't believe it." Hitomi thinks to herself. "I refuse to believe!" She makes her way back to the rail and, following it, she finds Kirei. Kirei watches her as she takes her place at her side. "Where did you go, kid?" Kirei asks the young girl. "I was starting to worry." Hitomi stares down at the ground. "Just needed to get some fresh air." Kirei inclines her head. "Didn't he have you promise not to leave my side?" Hitomi flinches and nods. "He did. I didn't go that far."

Kirei smiles and puts her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I let it slide this one time." She furrows her eyebrows as Hitomi steps out of reach. Kirei tilts her head. "Are you okay, kid?" Hitomi nods, her eyes shadowed by her bangs. "I'm fine." "Are you sure?" Kirei persists. "You are acting a little strange." Hitomi shakes her head. "I just have something on my mind. That's all." "Oh." Kirei says. She smiles and looks up at the monitor. "Well, if you want to talk I'm here for you, kid." Hitomi looks up and smiles. "Really?" Kirei nods. Hitomi looks back down and takes a deep breath. "I was wondering...Yuudai has never hurt anyone...has he?"

Kirei looks down at Hitomi, her eyebrows slowly rising. "Hurt anyone?" Kirei asks. Hitomi swallows hard and looks up. "I mean...really hurt someone." Kirei shakes her head and puts her hands on her hips. "I'm afraid I'm not with you on this one, kid." Hitomi trembles and brings her hands together over her heart. "Has Yuudai ever..." Hitomi chokes. Kirei waits, searching her face. After a few more false starts, Hitomi finally asks, "did Yuudai ever...kill someone?"

Kirei's eyes widen and she turns red in the face. Her breathing becomes ragged and her lips curl over her teeth. Hitomi starts to back away. "Who said that?" Kirei growls. Hitomi's mouth opens and closes without noise. "I...I..." Hitomi says. "Who told you that, Hitomi?" Kirei demands, grabbing her arms. "Tell me!" Hitomi cries and shakes her head. "No-one! I was just wondering!" She sobs. "Just asking!" Kirei pants as she releases Hitomi and backs away, clenching and unclenching her hands. Hitomi hugs her self and weeps. Kirei takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry." She says. "I'm very sorry, Hitomi." She reaches out and touches Hitomi, but she pulls away. "I'm truly sorry." She says and looks back to the race, shaking slightly. Hitomi looks off, trembling.

--

Yuudai groans and locks his arms, keeping his Runner straight on the path. His life points drop to 3500. He looks up at the bounty hunter's Mecha Bunny. The bounty hunter laughs. "Wouldn't think a cute little bunny could have such a bite, eh Legend?"

Yuudai smirks. He looks up and gasps seeing a creature appear before him. It slashes him and his life points drop to 2000. His bike sways and narrowly misses a tree and hits a root, launching the Runner into the air. It lands and Yuudai grips the handles and guides the runner back onto the path.

A shadow passes over him and he looks up. A large bird swoops down and rips at him with its talons. Yuudai struggles to keep the bike on the path and concentrate on the obstacles. "Why are they all attacking me?" Yuudai thinks to himself. He looks down at the screen. None of the other duelists have been attacked or targeted by effects. Yuudai's eyes widen. He looks back at the bounty hunter. Meeting his eyes, the bounty hunter grins.

"He convinced them to knock me out of the race!" Yuudai realizes. He looks straight and locks his jaw.

"Like my little welcome wagon?" The bounty hunter asks as he comes up beside Yuudai. He chuckles. "Now it will be so easy to wipe you out and bring you in! You should have gotten what you wanted when you had the upper hand!"

"You may have tilted the table..." Yuudai says. He looks at the bounty hunter. "...But I'm not going down without a fight." He turns sharply and the bounty hunter flinches, moving back as Yuudai takes the center of the path. The bounty hunter smiles. "Interesting." Yuudai draws. "I summon Disciple of the Forbidden Spell in defense mode! Then I end my turn with a face-down!"

"Let me make losing easy for you!" The hunter says as he draws. "I summon Diskblade Rider!" A monster riding a motorcycle and armed with a razor disk appears and rides beside him. The bounty hunter picks another card from his holder. "Now I use the trap Ultimate Offering. With it I can summon as many times as I wish as long as I pay 500 life points per additional summoning! Using it's power, I summon Chaosrider Gustaph!" Another monster on a motorcycle appears beside the hunter, armed with a bladed staff.

The bounty hunter laughs. "Now I use their effects! I remove two spell cards and one trap card from play from my graveyard and they both gain more attack points!" Both of his monsters glow and their attack points rise. The bounty hunter raises a hand. "Attack, Chaosrider Gustaph! Destroy his Disciple!" Gustaph speeds up and runs over the Disciple, crushing him. "Now it's your turn, Diskblade Rider! Finish him off!" He declares. His monster revs its engine and pulls up beside Yuudai. He slashes him with his razor disk and falls back.

The bounty hunter wrinkles his nose in a sneer. "What's this?" He asks. He looks down at his screen. Yuudai's life points were 4200 now. He looks up. "How is this possible?"

"My trap Draining Shield protected me." Yuudai says. He nods to the hologram of his trap. "A handy card for battle royale-style duel." The bounty hunter groans. The path suddenly slopes. They go under the roots of a tree and down into the dark. There were lights lining the ceiling, flashing by as they rode through puddles. Yuudai draws. "Time to turn the tables." Yuudai says. "I set one card and summon Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior!" Garoth appears and turns to the bounty hunter. He scowls and grips his ax.

"Now I have him attack your Diskrider!" Yuudai declares. Garoth leaps and swings down with his ax, cleaving the Diskrider, as well as his bike, in two. They explode and the bounty hunter swerves out of the way of the smoke. "Now I set one more card and end my turn." Yuudai says.

Yuudai looks at the screen. Both of the other riders were still in the duel. One plays a card and Yuudai looks up. He watches as his Garoth groans and shatters. Another monster appears and charges at Yuudai.

"I play the trap card Glorious Illusion! With it, I summon to the field Wulf, Lightsworn Beast!" The monster stops its attack and vanishes. The rider sets a card and ends his turn. The next rider summons a monster by sacrificing another already on the field. A vampire appears before Yuudai and attacks his Wulf.

"It's attack points are lower." Yuudai says flatly as his monster stabs the vampire in the face with its spear. The monster groans and shatters. The other rider laughs and looks into the screen. "That was the point. When Vampire's Curse is destroyed in battle, I can summon it during my next turn by paying five hundred life points. If I do that, it gains five hundred more attack points." The rider laughs and grins fiendishly. "You can't kill it and it keeps coming back stronger!"

Yuudai smiles. He draws and looks at his hand. "I set one monster face-down." He says. "With that, I end my turn."

The bounty hunter draws. "You're running out of lives, cat." He says. He picks a card and holds it out. "I activate the Speed Spell Summon Speeder! Now I get to special summon a level four or lower monster from my hand! I choose my Sonic Shooter! Then, I sacrifice my Chaosrider to summon Swift Birdman Joe! When he is summoned by sacrificing a WIND monster, all the spells and traps on the field are returned to their hands!" Birdman Joe flaps his wings and the wind blows Yuudai's face-down card away.

The bounty hunter laughs. "Now that your spell and trap card zones are empty, my Sonic Shooter can attack you directly!" His Sonic Shooter dashes at Yuudai and hits supersonic speed beside him. Yuudai is rocked by the shock-wave and hits the side of the tunnel. He groans as his bike starts to go out of control. He swerves and hits the other side. Yuudai pulls the Runner back into the middle of the tunnel and sighs with relief.

The tunnel ends and they find themselves riding in the middle of a rocky plain. "Now I use the Speed Spell Final Attack. This doubles my Swift Birdman's attack and destroys him at the end of my turn. Attack his Wulf, Joe!" He declares. His monster attacks Wulf, who explodes with a wine. Yuudai's life points drop to 1700. Swift Birdman Joe shatters. "I end my turn." The bounty hunter says. Another rider puts a card on his panel, which appeared on Yuudai's screen. "I summon Mirage Dragon! Then I play..." His box suddenly turns into snow. Yuudai could hear the bounty hunter curse behind him. The next rider draws.

"My Vampire returns." He declares. "With a 500 attack point boost. Now I will have him attack your face-down monster!" The Vampire appears before Yuudai again. It bares its fangs and hisses. It opens its wings and a black mist swallows up Yuudai's face-down monster. The hologram of the card flips and reveals a white wolf. It howls and shatters.

"You flipped my Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter!" Yuudai declares. "Now, by discarding three cards from the top of my deck, I can destroy one card on the field." The shattered remains of Ryko collect and form a glowing arrow. Yuudai points. "I choose your Vampire."

The arrow shudders and darts at the Vampire, piercing its heart and destroying it. "Ha! It'll just come back next turn!" The rider says. Yuudai shakes his head. "Not in this duel. It's effect states that it can return when destroyed by battle, not by card effect." The rider double looks at his card and groans.

"My turn." Yuudai says grimly as he draws. "I set one card face-down. Then I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner!" His summoner rises before him swirling around. She stops and throws out her hands, scattering little lights. "With her effect, I discard one card from my hand and summon a Lightsworn monster from my graveyard to the field."

Jain rises beside Lumina and twirls his sword. Yuudai looks back at the bounty hunter. "I'll take out your Sonic Shooter now." He says. His Jain turns about and charges. He slashes sword thrice before jumping back to his place. Sonic Shooter groans and falls apart into three separate pieces. The bounty hunter groans as his life points drop to 3200. "Now it's your turn, Lumina!" Yuudai declares. Lumina vanishes, only to appear behind the hunter. She throws out her hands and they glow white. The light from her hands shines on the hunter and his life points drop to 2200.

"I set two cards and end my turn." Yuudai says. The hunter draws. "I summon Rampaging Rhynos!" A bipedal Rhyno in armor rises beside him. The hunter holds up another card. "Now I use the spell Rapid Shot Wing! With this, my Rhynos gainst 100 attack points for every Speed Counter I have. Not only that, but he gains 500 hundred attack points when he attacks." His Rhynos dashes at Yuudai with its ax raised. "I use the trap Defense Draw! Your attack is negated and I get to draw one card." Yuudai explains and draws.

"I end my turn with a face-down card." The hunter says. The other rider draws. "I summon Zombie Master! Like your Lumina, by discarding a card from my hand, I can summon a Zombie monster from my grave to the field. I choose my Vampire's Curse!"

Yuudai rolls his eyes. "Do I have to destroy it again?" He says with exasperation. "He's going to be doing all the destroying, I promise you that!" The man says. "First, I'll have my Zombie Master attack your Lumina!" A child-like figure wearing a mask appears before Yuudai.

Yuudai dodges a boulder and throws out a hand. "I activate the effect of my Necro Gardna! By removing him from play while he's in the grave, I can negate one attack!" His monster slides out of the grave slot and he pockets it. The Zombie Master vanishes.

"Now I have my Vampire's Curse attack!" The rider says. His Vampire appears behind Lumina. He wraps his arms around her waist and leans his face down to her throat. Lumina flinches and moans. She shatters into tiny pieces and the Vampire fades. Yuudai grips the handlebars and groans as his life points drop to 700. At first, he could have sworn he saw Jain grip his hand and grit his teeth. He shakes his head and looks again, but Jain was just standing there as usual.

Yuudai draws. His life points rise to 1100. "My Marie the Fallen Ones." He explains to the confused bounty hunter. He looks at his hand and smiles. "I knew you wouldn't leave me high and dry." He mutters. He holds the card up. "I summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel!" Jain evaporates and Celestia lowers before Yuudai. "By discarding four cards from the top of my deck, she destroys two cards on the field." Yuudai swipes his hand. "Destroy our friend's monster and face-down card!" Yuudai says. Celestia turns slowly. The bounty hunter shakes his head. "Oh, boy." He says.

Celestia twists around the rest of the way, swinging up her javelin. A band of light leaves the tip of the javelin and strikes the bounty hunter's cards. Rhynos groans and shatters, followed by the hunter's face-down card. "Finish him." Yuudai says.

Celestia throws up her wings and holds her javelin aloft. With a mighty yell, she swoops down on the bounty hunter and drags her javelin's blade through him. The bounty hunter cries out as his life points drop to 0 and his Runner shuts down.

Yuudai smirks. "One down..." He looks forward. "...One to go." "You've done well." The other rider says. He draws. "But don't think it's over. It's far from it! I sacrifice my Zombie Master and my Vampire's Curse to summon Diabolos, King of the Abyss!"

A flash draws Yuudai's attention to the left. On the horizon, running parallel to him, was a huge, black dragon. "Attack, Diabolos!" The rider says. The dragon turns and roars. He flies over, closing the distance between him and Yuudai in a matter of seconds. It opens its mouth and scoops Celestia into it's mouth.

"Not so fast." Yuudai says. "I activate Vanquishing Light. By sacrificing my Celestia, your Diabolos's summoning is negated!" Diabolos groans and a blade pops out of the top of its head with a spurt of blood. It explodes and Celestia rises from the smoke. She bows her head and evaporates. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." The rider says, gritting his teeth.

Yuudai draws. A green aura surrounds him and his life points rise to 1700. "I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress!" Yuudai picks a card from his hand. "Then I use her effect! By turning her into defense mode, she can destroy one face-down trap or spell card!" Lyla kneels and the rider's face-down card shatters. "I end my turn with one face-down." Yuudai says.

The rider draws and smiles. "I summon Decayed Commander!" A rotted corpse in armor rises and brandishes a sundered sword. "And his effect allows me to summon Zombie Tiger from my hand!" A tiger with two long fangs appears beside the Commander. "And now my Zombie Tiger equips himself to my Commander!" The zombie tiger becomes a mist and wraps around the Commander, who breathes it in and growls. "Now attack!" The rider declares.

The Commander appears before Lyla and slashes her. She shatters and one of the cards in Yuudai's holder vanishes. "Now I use the spell card Combination Attack!" A bolt of lightning strikes him and he swerves with a cry. "Though I must receive a penalty for using a normal spell, it's more than worth it." The rider pants. "Now my two creatures can separate and attack you! It's all over!"

Yuudai smiles. "Not if I can help it." He says. The Zombie Tiger leaps at him and attacks. It glances off a barrier and stumbles back. A Necro Garnda card slips out of the graveyard slot and Yuudai puts it in his pocket. "Compliments of your Commander's discarding effect." The rider huffs. "Yeah? Well have some more from my Commander!"

Yuudai groans as his life points drop to 300 and a card vanishes from his holder. "You finished?" Yuudai asks. He draws. "I have a duel to win." He is wrapped in a green aura and his life points rise to 900. He glances at his holder. "I have to stall. Just long enough for this to work..." He runs his fingers along the tops of the cards and stops at one. "I summon to the field my Disciple of the Forbidden Spell! Now he attacks your Zombie Tiger!" His Disciple slashes the tiger with his sword and it falls apart.

The rider draws. "My move! I summon a monster in face-down defense mode and end my turn." He says. Yuudai draws and his life points rise again, stopping at 1500. "I turn my Disciple into defense mode and set one monster face-down." Yuudai says. The rider eyes him and gives a chuckle. "Running out of ideas?" He looks back ahead. "It's sad, really. I'll finish you quick to save you any more embarrassment. I sacrifice my Commander to summon Ryu Kokki! With him, I can destroy any Warrior or Spellcasters automatically no matter how powerful!" He points. "I attack your face-down card!" Ryu Kokki grabs the hologram of the card, which turns into another Disciple, and shoves it into his mouth. "It's only a matter of time before I win." The rider says haughtily.

Yuudai draws, and his life points rise to 2100. "Times up!" Yuudai says, holding up a card. He slaps it down. "For you! Now I use the spell card Monster Reincarnation!" Yuudai's vision turns white and his whole body burns. He sways and faints as his life points drop to 100. His Runner drifts off course and shudders as it hits a patch of stones. The other rider smiles. "Looks like I win." He speeds up and heads for the stadium in the distance.

Yuudai's Runner teeters, threatening to fall over. Yuudai remains unconscious, slumped in his seat. In his mind, everything was white. In the distance, he saw a small figure standing there.

"Yuudai!"

Yuudai's eyes snap open. He looks up, seeing the finish line coming into view. He could hear the crowd cheering for them. Yuudai sits up and revs the engine, moving off the rocks and catching up with the rider. "Where was I?" Yuudai asks as he pulls up beside the rider. He looks at Yuudai and his eyes widen. "Wha-?"

"I bring back from the grave a friend of mine!" Yuudai says. A card slips out of the grave slot and Yuudai takes it in hand and holds it up. "Come on out, Gragonith!"

His other Disciple vanishes and his dragon descends from the clouds, with tendrils of vapor wrapped around its body. Throwing down its large wings, it breaks the bands and roars. "Since I have ten Lightsworns in my grave, his attack points rise to 5000!" Yuudai declares. The rider stares up in awe and fear. The dragon turns to him and opens his mouth. The rider cries out as Gragonith bathes his Ryu Kokki in a beam of light. His Runner shudders and shuts down.

Yuudai smiles and looks ahead. "Game over." He says. He speeds up and zooms into the stadium. He crosses the finnish line and passes the onlookers. A cheer rises behind him in a wave. He slows and skids to a stop, swinging out the back end of the Runner. He stands and pulls off his helmet. He tosses his bangs back with a flick of his neck and pulls off his cloth. People surround him, reaching out to touch him as they cheer his name. A man in a suit makes his was to Yuudai and hands him an envelope. "Congratulations, Yuudai Chiyo! You are this year's winner!" Yuudai thanks him and takes the envelope.

"Yuudai!"

Yuudai looks around and sees Kirei at the edge of the crowd. She was waving her hands in the air to get his attention. His smile becomes a frown seeing her pale face. He jumps off the Runner and pushes his way through the crowd. People congratulate him as he passes, but he ignores them and only interacts when he has to bodily move someone aside. He steps out of the crowd and comes over to Kirei. "What's wrong?" He asks. She shook her head. "Bro...I..." She swallows and licks her lips. "Hitomi's gone!" Yuudai's eyes widen. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?" "Gone! She vanished! I don't know how! I look away for a moment and look back and she's not there!" Kirei pants.

"Why?" Yuudai says. "Why would she run away?" Kirei runs a hand through her hair. "I don't know. She was acting strangely, though." She mutters. "She asked me about..." Her voice falters. Yuudai searches her eyes. "What? About what?"

"Perhaps I can help." The bounty hunter says as he approaches them. Yuudai turns to him. His eyes were bright and penetrating. "You know something of this? Explain yourself." The bounty hunter sighs. "One of my comrades decided it would be best to set a trap for you, Yuudai. He convinced your friend to come with him so you would follow." He says.

Kirei gasps and looks to Yuudai. "We have to find her! Quick!" Yuudai is silent as he stares at the bounty hunter. He squints his eyes. "You are supposed to tell me this, aren't you?" Kirei blinks in surprise. She looks up at the bounty hunter and glares at him. The bounty hunter nods. "Yes. That is, as a bounty hunter. As a person, I want to do more. I want to help you."

"How can you help?" Yuudai asks. The bounty hunter looks off. "My friend has taken Hitomi into the Mukyuukage Forest." Yuudai's eyes widen. "Is he an idiot?" He exclaims. "That place is full of monsters!" "That's why he's leading you there. In hopes you are killed." The hunter says. He smiles. "But I can lead you through the safe paths that my friend will use. I can help you find him so you can retrieve your friend. That's all I can do -- the fight will be yours alone."

Yuudai nods. "Good enough." He comes close the bounty hunter, stopping a hair's breadth from him. He stares up at the man with his eyes glittering. He grips his hands. "No harm better come to that girl." Yuudai says. The man closes his eyes and swallows. He nods slowly. Yuudai was silent, still boring his glare into the man's lids. "For there are no words to describe what I will put you through if your friend hurts her." Kirei crosses her arms. "I second that."

The bounty hunter eyes them and nods. "Point taken..."


	7. Hitomi's Bane

**Author's Note: **I'm trying a new writing style with my stories. I didn't feel my old way was really true to myself. Don't ask what I mean, just tell me if you think this style of writing is better.

**Chapter Seven: **_**Hitomi's Bane**_

Hitomi followed the short man through the mist and trees. She looked up each tree she passed, just able to make out their bare branches leaning over her, like a claws of some skeletal beast waiting to slam down on her. As she walked she stumbled; her legs feeling as though they were made of stone. Cold, unbending, heavy stone.

Her foot got caught on a gnarly root that stuck up from the ground and she fell flat on her face with a groan. She pulled herself up and rubbed at her ankle and looked up at the man.

"How much further, Gora?" Hitomi asked, her voice dry and cracked. The stout man turned and put his hands on his hips. His face was pulled taut and seething. "Not too long, now. We're heading for a waterfall that should be only a mile away. We'll stay there for the night and move on again in the morning."

Hitomi held her ankle, face tilted up and eyes begging pitifully. "Can't we just rest here? What's the rush?" "I told you, these are dangerous lands we are traveling." He said with a measured tone. "Besides. You don't want that Yuudai to catch up with us, do ya?"

Hitomi looked down at the ground.

Yuudai...

She wondered where he was now. She also wondered how Kirei was doing. Both were probably leagues away from here, not concerned in the slightest where she was. Hitomi gave a shuddering sigh. She felt betrayed. The only two in the world she thought actually cared about her turned out to be like all the rest of the people in her life: merely wisps of memory.

"I'm still tired." Hitomi murmured dejectedly. "And I don't feel like getting anywhere."

Gora's chin quivered as his face turned red. "That's not good enough. You being sad doesn't change the fact that we need to keep on moving." Hitomi hung her head. "I can't. There's no reason to move forward, Gora."

"Stop your nagging!" Gora boomed. "Just stop it! You haven't shut up once since we came into this forest!" Hitomi's face snapped up, her eyes wide in shock from Gora's spit-filled explosion. He clenched his fists in tight knots. "You will do as I say and like it! Now get up!"

The tired girl sat there, dumbstruck. "Gora, why are you..." "No more questions!" Gora interrupted. He turned and stared to walk away. "Now get up and follow me."

"Why should I?" Hitomi snapped defiantly. She glared at him and a violet band raced across her eyes.

Gora turned and smiled at her. He laughed and swaggered back over to her. "Now don't go arguing with me either, kid. I may have to get disciplinary." Hitomi wrinkled her nose and at him. "Why don't you just leave? Go away and leave me alone. I don't have to do as you say!"

With incredible speed for a man of his height and weight, Gora closed the remaining distance between them, grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet, much to Hitomi's distress. "You want to live, don't you?" He hissed. Hitomi trembled, staring at Gora blankly. Her lips opened and closed, failing the first few times to make sound. "Why...why are you..." "What? Acting like this?" Gora asked menacingly. Hitomi could only nod. Gora flashed a grin and gripped her arm harder. "Because you're nothing more than bait, understand? I need you to get that Yuudai guy to follow me!"

"But..." Hitomi said breathlessly. "I thought..." "I was a friend? That I cared? That's one I'll have to tell the boys when I get back to the mainland!" Gora laughed. Hitomi's lips curled at the sudden realization that she had been betrayed once again. Her eyes now shifted from blue all the way to violet.

"Then why do you want me?" Hitomi said calmly, pulling her arm away with surprising strength. Gora gave her a look up and down. "Heh. You got spunk, kid. I hate that." He jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder. "Look, you're going with me no matter what, cause if you try to run away, either I will find you or a monster will."

Hitomi gave a chuckle, which was far too cold to be of her nature. "I'd handle a monster fine, let alone a fleshling like yourself. Now stand down...if you want to keep the skin you're wearing."

Gora pulled back his hand. "Why you little..." He swings his hand at her face, but his arm is stopped by a vice-like grip. He groaned and stared down in utter shock at Hitomi's small, porcelain hand wrapped around his wrist. He looked up at her face and made a motion to step back. Her face had become slender and chiseled, and her eyes were sunken in so they were shadowed. Her pouting lips twisted into a smile, which was no less a snarl. She looked up at him and her eyes were now veiled by a violet glow.

"You mortal fool." She said in a voice not her own. It was smooth and mature, deep like a cat's purr. It rolled in an accent Gora had never heard before. Like her smile, her voice was cold and deathly pleasant.

Gora gasped as she twisted his arm and pulled him closer with one vicious motion. He trembled as he stared into her eyes. They looked as though they were made of water and would ripple if he so much as breathed. Such beauty and horror in one face! Her little lips parted to reveal her teeth, letting a sweet vapor to leak out.

"You still want me around?" She mewed. At the lack of a response she gave a loud, maniacal laugh. "You poor thing. If you only knew. As long as this body is mine - all who threaten it will die a most unpleasant death!"

Gora suddenly found himself being pulled around with the world in a burr. Her hand released him and he went off with a stumble and hit a tree. He sagged down and crumpled at the roots.

Seeing a pair of shoes before him, Gora winced in pain and looked up timidly until the feminine terror filled his sight. She was smiling; that cold and gleeful smile like that of a child watching a lost ant wandering aimlessly along the ground.

"Rise, human." She beckoned with a playful coo. She reached into a pocket, concealed by the folds of her dress, and produced a deck. She held it up and her grin widened to an almost impossible length. "Come and duel with me. I so love the thrill of a mortal clinging to his life." Gora shook his head, scrambling against the tree as though if he pushed hard enough it would step aside and allow him escape. "No! Leave me alone! I'll do anything! Ju-ju-just leave me alone, you hear?"

The terrible melody of her laugh filled his ears again. "Anything, you say? You would do anything for me?" "Yes!" Gora wailed in response, resorting to prostrating at her feet. Hitomi held up a hand above the man's head.

"Then die for me!" Her hand flashed, bathing Gora's vision in darkness. Gora looked up and he saw in the black before him a pair of burning eyes; lidless, faceless, flickering like two stars. A roar echoed in his mind, breaking like a wave upon his face. He screamed, but his voice was pulled from his mouth. He felt his very life being striped from him, leaving his body through his mouth.

Hitomi lowered her hand and stared down at the lifeless body of Gora, slumped against the tree like an empty sack. His eyes were as white as milk, staring down at a little ant that passed, heedless as he carried his precious crumb. Hitomi's slender shoulders shook as she chuckled and tossed back her hair. "And so he returns to the dirt from whence he came. So fortunate that I will never have to suffer such a fate!"

Hitomi turned and giggled softly. "Now I just wait for him..."

Ω

The bounty hunter shuddered, trying to keep his eyes focused on the path before him. He didn't really see the path, or the trees and bushes before him. All he felt, and knew, were the fiery eyes of Yuudai that bore into the back of his head. He needn't to look; he just knew.

"How much further?" Kirei asked. "You said we would be there by noon." The bounty hunter looked back at her nodded. "I said that and we will." Kirei jutted out her chin and smiled darkly. "It's noon, if you didn't notice the light above our heads. It's called the sun." The bounty hunter swallowed hard, wetting his parched throat. "I know this looks bad."

"Very bad." Yuudai said flatly.

The bounty hunter looked around nervously, trying to keep fresh in his mind the land-forms that were telltale signs of being on the right track. As he looked around, Kirei leaned close to Yuudai and whispered in his ear: "do you think he's being honest, bro?"

"All I know is: he better be." Yuudai said, still staring at the bounty hunter. "I have a promise to keep to Hitomi. I've never gone back on a promise...and I'm not about to now. Kirei nodded and fell back, eyeing their surroundings.

"Gora!"

Kirei flinched, looking ahead. Over Yuudai's shoulder, she could see the bounty hunter running over to the a tree. He fell to his knees and his hands hovered over something. "Gora! What happened! Speak!" Yuudai said.

Yuudai came over and gazed down upon the body of Gora. Kirei joined him and her face twisted, unable to hold back a few dry wretches. Gora's body was bleached by the sun; it was obviously in this condition for a long time.

"What happened to him?" The bounty hunter asked, his voice tight. Yuudai took a deep breath through his nose and looked away casually, searching the woods with his eyes. "It appears he wasn't too friendly with Hitomi." Yuudai said, finally. The bounty hunter slowly looked up at him, eyes questioning. "What do you mean?"

Yuudai looked back at him, smiling. "There's something about his little 'hostage' he didn't know about. She has a power. A power that, unfortunately, she has no control over."

Kirei gravitated toward Yuudai, on her face was the look of awe. "You mean...like back at the cave?" Yuudai nodded and crossed his arms, eyeing Kirei out of the corner of his eye. He seemed amused, as if admiring a masterful prank. "Exactly what I mean. Poor Gora. If only he knew how ill thought-out his plan was." He then shrugged. "Oh, well. Now all we have to do is find Hitomi."

"Seeing that you no longer need my guidance..." The bounty hunter said, rising to his feet. "...I'll leave finding Hitomi to..."

"You don't want to finish that sentence." Yuudai interrupted dryly, that sealing the bounty hunter's fate. He was in this until the end; almost literally, seeing the body of Gora.

"Were do you think she went?" Kirei asked. Yuudai shrugged, his eyes wandering. "I haven't a clue. She could be anywhere in this forest."

"How about right here?"

They all looked up and even Yuudai reacted with shock. There, standing on the thick bough of a nearby tree, was Hitomi. She leaned on the trunk, though not for support. Yuudai narrowed his eyes; there was something wrong. The way she smiled, the way her eyes shone violet in the sunlight.

"Well, well, well. At last we meet again!" Hitomi cooed softly. She laughed and jumped down, landing gently on the ground. Kirei's eyes widened and the girl's name slipped passed her lips.

"Of course we do...we've known each other for days now, Hitomi." Kirei said, brows furrowed in confusion as she approached the girl. Yuudai sensed there was something wrong. He felt like he was talking to a woman who had similar features to Hitomi, but not Hitomi herself.

To Kirei's question, the woman giggled gleefully and shook her head. "Oh no, we haven't. You've known Hitomi. We've had a...run-in back at the cave."

Hearing this, Yuudai raised a hand to Kirei, palm toward the ground. He made a patting motion to tell Kirei to remain where she was. "So you are the power inside Hitomi? You have a personality?" Yuudai asked, positioning himself between Hitomi and the others. Hitomi nodded; almost a bob of the head. "Oh, yes indeed. Now, answer my question. Have you forgotten me?"

"I must have, or I've never met you. I have a feeling it's the latter." Yuudai said bluntly. He was not in the mood for games. This was apparent in his eyes, which seemed to glow. There was a twinge of disappointment in her voice as Hitomi answered. "How tragic. We've only spent the best years of our lives together, your highness. But it's fine with me!" Hitomi said, suddenly grinning. "Then I can get my revenge without much of a struggle!"

She threw back her head and a wave of heat struck Yuudai, followed by a pervading darkness. He crossed his arms over his body and braced himself, trying to remain standing though his legs were being tugged out from under him by the heated wind. He could just barely hear Kirei's voice calling for him, but she sounded distant. He opened his eyes and looked back. Kirei was behind him, just as before, but he could see a wisp of smoke leaving her lips, being drawn from her mouth and over his head. He followed the smoke with his eyes and stopped on Hitomi.

There, where Hitomi once stood, he saw the eyes; bright and lidless. They just stared, like a predator evaluating its prey. Yuudai realized that he began to feel lightheaded, while his arms and legs grew heavy. To his horror, he noticed that there was a line of vapor drifting out his mouth and toward the eyes.

"I'm dying." Yuudai thought. He knew it and he could feel it throughout his body. He smiled and closed his eyes. It was just as he imagined it would be like: peaceful. He lowered his arms and opened his body to the sensation.

"Yuudai!"

Yuudai slowly opened his eyes and listened. The voice wasn't distant, in fact it was like a shout in his ear. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder. A small figure was standing beyond Kirei and the bounty hunter. The figure raised its hands, reaching out pleadingly to him. He could have sworn he heard a girl weeping.

"Come back! You can't go - not now!"

Yuudai nodded, like a child hearing the voice of his mother coaxing him to do better. He knew that voice. The voice was from his dim past; weak, but not forgotten. The figure reached at him more, affixed to that spot and unable to move closer.

"Fight! Yuudai!" The figure cried. "Fight the Beast!"

Yuudai felt his heart race. He never felt this way before: he was strong and determined. The feeling coursed through his veins like liquid fire, casting out the lead from his limbs and clearing his mind.

He couldn't die now.

There was a score to be settled.

He faced the eyes and stood taller, opening his body more to the wind. With a determined expression on his face, he declared: "I'm not done!" Holding out his hands, the darkness washed away with a blast of blinding light. The light dimmed and the forest loomed in around them. A loud wail came from the eyes as they faded in the light.

Yuudai watched as Hitomi stumbled back, clutching at her eyes. A blood-chilling howl tore from her throat. The sound was far from human. Kirei stumbled and fell back, as did the bounty hunter, laying on their backs for a length before looking around.

"What happened?" Kirei asked, gawking at Yuudai. The young man remained standing, not at all feeling the weakness that his comrades felt. His fiery eyes blazed and billowed like the tongues of two flames. Hitomi peaked out from the cage of her fingers, those eyes of her still glaring violet. "You fleshling...you dare strike out at me?" She shrieked. She lowered her arms, tears of blood running down her cheeks.

Raising her arm, a duel disk suddenly appeared out of thin air and clasped to her forearm. Taking out a deck from a pocket, hidden in the folds of her dress, Hitomi slipped it into the Deck slot of her duel disk. "I will get my revenge...one way or the other!"

Yuudai raised his duel disk, but stopped and looked back hearing Kirei. "Bro, don't." She said, getting up and onto her knees. "She's not..."

"I know." Yuudai said. "But I made a promise." Yuudai slipped his deck into his duel disk and activated it. The blades slammed together and extended away from his arm. The card panels flashed and his life points meter shot up to 4000. A dark dome formed around Yuudai and Hitomi. But the dome became so dark that Kirei could not see either combatant. Kirei ran over and touched the dome, then hit it with her hand. "Bro!"

Ω

"Hitomi. I know you're still in there." He said under his breath as he stared across the field at the woman of violet eyes. He drew five cards and an extra, taking the first turn. "I summon to the field, Jain! My Lightsworn Paladin!"

Yuudai's swordsman rose from the ground, his pearly armor gleaming and is sword bright in the darkness. Yuudai holds up a card. "I set one card face-down and end my turn!"

Hitomi drew a card and grinned fiendishly. She brought the card to her nose and took a deep sniff. "Ah...I smell your soul in this card, your highness!"

"What's with this 'your highness' stuff?" Yuudai pressed. Hitomi merely continued her turn, giving him a coy wink. "I summon to the field, Nurse Reficule the Fallen One!"

A woman rose behind Hitomi, wrapped in bandages and spreading three airs of bat-like wings from her back. The woman blankly stared past her pale blue bangs at Yuudai's monster. "Now I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

Yuudai draws as he examines her field. "She's up to something. Her Nurse has only 1400 attack points. My Jain has 1800, plus the 300 he gains by attacking." He thinks to himself as he looks down at his hand. "I haven't anything to prevent her traps, which I'm sure is what is waiting for me, so the only thing I can do is flush them out early."

"I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner!" His tan, blonde magician appeared beside Jain. Her face creased in concern seeing Hitomi's monster, but turned stoical as Yuudai examined her face. Yuudai pushed it from his mind and continued the duel. "Now Jain! Attack her Nurse Reficule!" Jain runs at the Nurse, his sword pulled back at his side. His attack strength shot up to 2100. He jumped and slashed above Hitomi's head, aiming at the Nurse.

"I activate my Trap..." Hitomi said. One of her face-down cards flipped up. "...Gift Card! With this you'll gain 3000 life points." Yuudai's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Seeing this Hitomi giggled haughtily. "Indeed, you are right to suspect, your highness. For in response to my Gift Card, I activate the trap Brutal Potion! When I deal damage to your lifepoints, my Nurse gains 1000 extra attack points!"

Yuudai chuckled. "Thank goodness you gave me 3000. Kind of futile, don't you think, to activate that effect?"

Hitomi's pupils slit vertically as she hissed her words. "Not quite. Nurse Reficule changes life points my opponents gain into life points lost. She reverses the effect. You have now lost 3000 life points!"

Yuudai choked as his eyes widened. He fell to his knees and pushed the ground to support himself. He felt all his insides spinning as his life points fell to 1000. Jain flew back from his rebounded attack. He groaned and shattered, furthering the damage to Yuudai's life points, which dropped now to 700.

Hitomi laughed hysterically, pointing at Yuudai. "Oh how the mighty have fallen! Look at you, your highness! Groping the dirt for strength!" Yuudai coughed, his scarf becoming heavy with the moisture of blood. He panted, slowly pulling himself up. He staggered, but remained standing. "Nice moves. I'm glad I finally found..." He looks, staring directly into Hitomi's glazed, violet eyes. "...A worthy opponent..."

He eyed her trap, Brutal Strength. "Odd. Should that not be destroyed as the effect wears off?"

Hitomi, looking angry that Yuudai brushed off her attack, gestured to the card with a huff. "Stupid fleshling. My trap becomes equipped to my Nurse, though it's effects wear of at the end of each turn. However, every time you lose life points, my equipped monster gains 1000 points. To put it in layman's terms: you are not going to last another turn, your highness!" She draws a card. "Are you ready to die?"

Yuudai smiled as he stood tall. "This duel isn't over yet...not by a long shot..."

_Hold on Hitomi...I am going to keep my promise!_


	8. Yuudai's Redemption

**Chapter Eight: Yuudai's Redemption**

The Beast giggled as she stared at Yuudai, enjoying seeing her prey so weak. Despite his convictions, she could see the weariness in his eyes. He had just come from a Turbo race, dueling to survive. Now he was in her Twilight Duel, again fighting for his very life. There was nothing left in him to fight. This was going to be a quick kill, she told herself. "It's not too late to bow to me, your highness. It's never too late to beg for mercy. If you do, I can make you my servant..." She ran her tongue over her front teeth. "...instead of my snack."

Yuudai grunted and brought a hand to his face, focusing one eye on her as his hand covered the other. He gripped his head, feeling his senses become hazy. He had to focus. He couldn't give up on Hitomi. He promised to protect her. But he knew that his physical health was failing due to the strain inflicted on him by the Twilight Duel. With every solitary life point he lost, his body edged closer to death. He could barely read the cards that were in his hand!

Despite his weakness, there was something deep inside him. Banked down inside him, feeling like a thousand explosions sealed in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't give up and he refused to.

"I won't lose you again..." Yuudai whispered, his voice muffled by his scarf.

The Beast's smile faded. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hitomi." Yuudai said, staring passed the woman. "Hitomi, listen. You need to fight this. You have to fight for your freedom. I'm here for you. I'm not leaving unless it's with you!"

"Heartwarming." The Beast said with a smirk, drawing a card. "But futile. She can't hear you, fleshling. She is mine. Since that day I destroyed her plane, devoured her family and everyone else on that flight, she has been mine! Not even you can free her!"

"Just make your move..." Yuudai growled under his breath. He groaned and brought his arm to his stomach as he felt a stabbing pain. He tried doubling over, but the pain wasn't lessened in the slightest. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear it.

Cackling with pleasure, the Beast raised a card. "It's over! In two turns I have killed The Legend! Such a pompous title for a piece of dirt! Now I activate the magic of Hinotama!" The dark dome opened for a brief moment above them. A fireball fell from the sky and passed through the opening, screaming toward Yuudai. Flying back from the impact, Yuudai skid to a stop on his back and lay motionless. His life points fell to a measly 200 because of the Spell Card.

"Now, because of my Brutal Potion, my Nurse gains an extra 1000 attack points!" The Beast giggled pleasantly, her eyes flashing violet. "Finally after all this time I get to see you die! Now my Nurse! Attack his Lumina! Deliver to me his soul! Night, night, your highness! "

"I activate my Trap... Defense Draw..." Yuudai choked out, his voice barely audible. Lumina threw out her hand and tried to defend herself against Reficule, who leaked a malignant mist onto the field. Lumina groaned and shattered into little pieces as the mist wrapped around her.

Yuudai rolled to his side and with labored movements got back onto his feet. "With this trap, I do not receive damage to my life points, but I get to draw one card." He drew a card and fought to remain still, not wanting to show weakness in front of his enemy. His legs were leaden, like two stumps ready to fall out from under him.

The Beast grinned and hugged her waist, fanning her cards before her lips. "So desperate. Don't you know when to lay down and die, human? You are fighting a power beyond your darkest dreams. What could possibly be driving you to do such a suicidal task?"

Yuudai drew a card and glared determinedly at his enemy. "I have to atone for a mistake. I will not allow what happened before to play out again!" Yuudai's voice lowered in anger. "...Never again! So now I play a Spell!" Yuudai panted as he reach to his duel disk, his hand shaking. He slipped a card into a slot on the card platform. "The Spell 'Monster Reincarnation'. I bring Lumina from the grave to my hand." He held up her card. "And now I summon her back to the field!" Lumina rose from a cloud of sparks and swirled once, her hands glowing white.

"Use your magic, Lumina! Summon forth Jain from the grave!" Yuudai said and discarded a card from his hand to activate this effect. Jain rose onto the field beside Lumina and drew his sword, pointing it at the Beast.

The Beast's eyes squinted in displeasure. "You two again. You've always been stubborn, haven't you?"

"Attack, Jain! Strike her Nurse down!" Yuudai commanded.

Jain ran across the field and brushed passed the Beast, tossing her hair and rippling her dress. He slashed Reficule across the chest as he brushed passed her as well, destroying her on the spot with a plume of smoke. The Beast grimaced and held her arm as her life points dropped to 3300.

"Now Lumina, go in for a direct attack!" Yuudai commanded. Lumina shot up and out of the smoke, tendrils of it wrapping around her legs. She landed lightly before the Beast and raised her hands, making motions with them. She threw them out at the Beast and they lit up, their intense light shining on her. The Beast froze and screamed in agony as her life points fell to 2300. With that, Lumina jumped back and landed on Yuudai's side of the field, joined there by Jain.

"This will not be enough to save you, human..." The Beast hissed, her back arched like a threatened animal as she held her arm.

Yuudai shook his head slowly, the duel before him fading and focusing. "You've got the wrong idea." Yuudai said slowly. "I'm not here to save myself. I'm here to save her..." His brow furrowed as something caught his eye, something behind the Beast. Could it be...a small figure watching him? It looked to be a young woman with long hair like flowing gossamer , her body nothing but a silhouette of white. The figure seemed so familiar to Yuudai and yet so alien. Who was this young woman that haunted the periphery of his mind?

The figure raised her slender arms and splayed her fingers, opening her embrace to Yuudai, without words begging for him to come to her. A soft voice spoke to him, though he heard no words. He felt himself moving forward, but his legs were planted firmly on the ground. His vision whited out and washed away the duel from around him. His vision dimmed again so that he found himself in a new place entirely.

He was now standing on a strip of beach, its sands red like blood. Above him was the darkest night he had ever seen; there wasn't a moon or a single star. Further down the strip of shoreline, he could see a figure. It was a child, dressed in a white summer dress decorated with blue flowers. She was knee-deep in the shallows, staring at the horizon. There, where the sky met the water, flashes of fire throbbed and thunderous explosions barked from across the distance. All the while the girl stood there, not even breathing, entranced by the sight.

Upon noticing the girl's striking blue eyes and her long, dark hair, Yuudai knew who she was. He started walking over, calling her name. "Hitomi! Hey! Over here!" But his voice sounded distant and with every step he took the sands stretched out, moving Hitomi further and further away from him. Hitomi didn't react as he continued to yell to her. Yuudai broke into a run and a raspy laugh reverberated around him.

"Try as you will and waste what time you have left. She can't hear you, fleshling. She is too busy reliving her ordeal all those years ago. She is stuck - stuck in the past! Nothing you do will free her from her own regret!"

Yuudai felt many hands on his body, pulling on him and slowing his movements. He fought against them with all his might, but he was pulled backward and the beach slipped out from under his feet. He stumbled and looked around, finding himself in the duel once again. The Beast laughed and winked at him teasingly. "Nice try, but her mind is completely closed to you, your highness."

Confused, Yuudai panted and ran his arm over his brow, wiping away his sweat. "What on earth was that?" He thought to himself. "Was I really inside Hitomi's mind? I have to do that again! I have to get her to hear me! It's the only way I can get her out of this!" Yuudai looked at the cards in his hand. He could not see their writing, but he could see the image of the cards clear enough to know what they were. He picked one and set it. "I set a card. With that, I end my turn. It's your move..."

The Beast drew a card as she hummed a merry tune. "Oh, this will do nicely." She cooed before holding up the card in question. "I activate The Shallow Grave! With this, we both summon a monster from our graves and set it in face-down defense position!" A card ejected from her duel disk and she set it. She then plucked two cards from her hand. "I will end my turn by setting two more cards."

Yuudai watched her, taking a card out of his graveyard as well. "I have no doubt in my mind that thing chose Nurse Reficule the Fallen One." He planned out in his mind. "With it she has the advantage in this duel. I have to make sure she never gets to flip it. I think I have just the card for the job..."

He set a monster from his own grave and drew a card to begin his turn. He was enveloped by a green aura and he smiled, some of his pain fading away as his life points rose to 600. Thank goodness that was timed out well, he thought to himself. Having two Marie the Fallen Ones in his grave would have been a bad thing if he hadn't gotten rid of Reficule beforehand.

"I flip up my face down monster!" Yuudai declared. The hologram of the card flipped and a white wolf in armor rose from it, howling. His body lit up in a yellow light and he jumped into the air at the Beast. "Thanks to your Shallow Grave, I was able to summon him face down from the grave! And now with his effect activated, my Ryko can destroy one card on the field! I choose your Reficule!"

The Beast grinned fiendishly as Ryko turned into a glowing arrow in mid air and fired. The arrow struck her face down Reficule card and shattered it, causing a blast of heated wind to wash over both combatants.

"Didn't take a genius to know what I had chosen." The Beast said scornfully. "But at least I forced you to show your hand, pardoning the pun." A hologram of a trap card rose up. "I now use my trap, Bad Reaction to Simochi! This card is a Trap Card equivalent to my Reficule. As long as it remains on the field, cards that would normally give you a life point increase instead deals damage to you!"

Yuudai sighed in frustration and took a card from his hand. He held it before his face, so one eye stared around it at the Beast. "I know one monster who can help me. But first..." He said under his breath, then declaring out loud to the Beast, "...I play Pot of Greed! I now draw two cards!" He drew his cards and examined them. "I also play Different Dimension Capsule! I remove from play a card from my deck and in two turns, it comes to my hand."

A large, stone sarcophagus broke up through the ground in front of Yuudai and slowly rose. It stopped once it was out of the ground and lay there, waiting for the time it can release the card placed inside of it.

"Interesting." The Beast said flatly. "But you won't last that many turns."

"Is that so? I wouldn't count me out just yet. I will defeat you. I will free Hitomi. _That_ you can count on!" Yuudai refuted venomously. "I end my turn. Make your move!"

The Beast drew a card. "And now your end is here! I summon to the field Stray Asmodian!" A short monster with four faces, each looking in a different direction, appeared on the field. It floated there, fluttering its four wings, wrapped in a large, black cloak. "With this weak little monster I will kill you. Once it dies in battle, you gain 800 life points." She gave Yuudai a chilling smile, both knowing what it meant, and pointed at Jain. "Attack."

Her Asmodian bowed and flames erupted from a crown on its head. The flames raged toward Jain, spreading like a massive hand to wrap around Yuudai's Paladin. The fires stopped and deflected off of something, never actually touching Jain.

"What?" The Beast yelled, fuming. "What have you done now?"

Yuudai held up a card. "By removing Necro Gardna from my graveyard, I can negate one attack." He pocketed Necro Gardna and the flames abated.

The Beast sneered and crossed her arms. "Why won't you just die? You are only delaying the inevitable..."

"Nothing is inevitable." Yuudai said, drawing a card. "This duel is far from done..." He flinched and cried out in pain, his life points dropping to 200 again due to his Marie the Fallen Ones. He looked up at the Beast's side of the field, his vision fading in and out as he held his stomach again. Every inch of him demanded rest and threatened to give. "I have to get rid of that Bad Reaction to Simochi card...somehow...and soon..." He thought urgently to himself, with possible strategies flying through his mind all at once. "I need that one card. Just that one."

He held up his hand, looking at the card he had drawn from his deck. "Perfect!" He thought to himself. He looked up at his opponent with renewed inspiration. "I knew my deck wouldn't let me down! I now use Foolish Burial! I send a card from my deck to my graveyard!"

The Beast raised her eyebrows, watching him throw away a monster. "What's the point in..." Her face looked like that of a person who had just been smacked. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "wait...Lumina!"

Yuudai held up a card to show her and then discarded it. "You got it! I now use Lumina's ability once again and summon from my graveyard a level four or lower Lightsworn monster! And I know just who to call forth!"

A card popped out of the graveyard slot and he summoned it to the field. "Come on out, Lyla! My Lightsworn Sorceress!" A woman with long black hair and a golden scepter rose before Yuudai. "With her, your Bad Reaction to Simochi is as good as gone! By switching Lyla to defense mode as per her effect, she can destroy one of your spell or trap cards!"

Lyla knelt to the ground and crossed her arms over her chest. In doing this, a wave of light rippled out from under her. The wave struck her Bad Reaction to Simochi card and shattered it on contact. The Beast's nose wrinkled in disgust as she muttered, "You are beginning to irritate me..."

"Attack, Jain! Destroy her Asmodian!" Yuudai called out as he pointed at the Beast's creature.

The Beast smiled and raised a card from her hand. "I summon Battle Fader! I can special summon him to the field when my opponent declares an attack. When I do, the battle phase ends immediately! Nice try at using Asmodian's ability to heal yourself, but it was all in vain."

Jain froze in mid-run, having covered half the distance between Yuudai and the Beast by the time she played Battle Fader's effect. He jumped back, aborting his attack, and took his place back with the other monsters. Yuudai sighed and set a card. "I end my turn with a face down..."

With a snide laugh, the Beast drew a card. "How sad." The Beast mused. "Despite your best efforts you are still struggling. Even sadder is the fact that you won't just lay down and give up!" She held out a card. "I summon to the field Phantom of Chaos!"

A black mass rose from her card and floated out onto the field, its shapeless form shifted and folded in on itself like smoke. A card came out of the Beast's graveyard and she pocketed it. "Now I use its effect. By removing from play a monster from my grave, my Phantom becomes that card! Effects and all! I bet you can guess which monster I removed from the game!"

Yuudai watched as the amorphous Phantom started folding in on itself. It stretched and pulsated, slowly taking on a humanoid form. Yuudai's worst fears were confirmed when the Phantom took on the guise of Reficule the Fallen One. It was an almost a perfect clone of Reficule, aside from the fact it was entirely black in color.

"Attack, my Asmodian...end this duel!" The Beast commanded. As the Beast's monster threw forward it's head to attack, Yuudai laughed dryly. His shoulders shook as he held a hand to his pained stomach. Despite the discomfort his laughing caused him, he continued regardless.

The Beast smirked at him, insulted. "What's so funny? Have you finally snapped from the stress?"

"Far from it." Yuudai said, locking his eyes on the Beast's intently. "I'm just amused. You have declared the end of our duel multiple times now and you have yet to defeat me." He swiped is hand through the air before him. "And right now is no exception! Reveal face-down! Radiant Mirror Force! Just like the original Mirror Force, this card redirects your attack back at you! Just so long as you have three or more attack position monsters!"

Asmodian's flames roared from it's crown and rushed across the field, washing over an iridescent barrier. The barrier bent under the strain before snapping back into shape, redirecting the flames back at the Beast's monsters. They were wiped out all at once by the wave of flames, shattering to pieces like glass. The Beast growled in anger, the sound rumbling up from her chest and passing through her teeth.

Yuudai laughed. "Look who is struggling now."

The Beast set a card, her violet eyes squeezing her opponent to death. "Shut your mouth...I am far from done with you. You will die the most painful and slow of deaths...that I promise to you!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep! I never do!" Yuudai drew a card and pointed with it. "Time to start making good on my promise! My Different Dimension Capsule's effect comes to a close! Give to me the card that I removed from play two turns ago!" As he said this, the sarcophagus opened and the lid slid off. The card inside faded and vanished, reappearing in Yuudai's hand. With a grating sound the sarcophagus crumbled to the ground and the chunks faded away.

"Let me introduce one of my favorite cards..." Yuudai said, holding up the card he gained from his Capsule's effect. With a movement of his fingers, the card turned to face the Beast. "I summon to the field...Guardian of Order!" When Yuudai slapped the card down on the last open space of his monster card zone, a being of pearl and gold armor rose behind him. Its body shone like the sun, bleaching the field white and casting away all the shadows.

**Ω**

Outside, Kirei and the bounty hunter watched as the dome's darkness was torn into shreds by rays of light. Slowly the shreds of darkness were consumed until they were all gone, leaving the dome shining white.

"What is going on?" The bounty hunter asked, breathless. Kirei could only shake her head with a shrug as she squinted against the light.

"I have no idea..." She mumbled. "...But I have no doubt that it's bro behind this light show."

**Ω**

The Beast threw up her hand and tried to shield her eyes from the harsh light all around her. Her eyes glowed under the shade of her hand, glaring out like a cornered animal, ready to do anything she needed to in order to kill Yuudai. "This...this is just like when..." The Beast hissed under her breath. "No. I refuse to go down again...time to use my trap..." She raised her duel disk, pointing with her cards at her prey. "Feel my judgement, human! I activate my trap card, Ring of Destruction!" Her card flipped up on the field and a ring fired out of it. It clamped onto Lumina and tightened around her waist. She squirmed and pulled that the ring, trying to free herself, but it exploded, filling Yuudai's field with flames and smoke.

The Beast trembled with joy, watching the smoke billow with a child-like glee. "You thought you were a match for me, but that will be the last mistake you'll ever make!" The Beast boasted. She waited, grinning in triumph, for the Twilight Duel to end and for the dome to lower around her. However, it remained and her duel disk remained active. "What's going on...?" The Beast demanded in outrage. "It's over! I've won!"

"That's where you are wrong."

The Beast flinched hearing the disembodied voice. The smoke settled, revealing Yuudai and his remaining monsters. His life point gauge now showed 400, instead of the previous 200 life points.

"How is this possible?" The Beast shrieked. "You are supposed to be dead! Dead, you hear? You only had 200 life points! Ring of Destruction hit you with 1000 points of damage! This is not possible! I should have won!"

Yuudai chuckled, drawing pleasure from his opponent's outrage. He ran a thumb over his top lip. "You keep underestimating me. I told you, I am not leaving without Hitomi. Besides, it's your own fault. You forgot that I had a face down card as well." He gestured to the hologram of his card beside him. It was the trap card 'Gift of the Mystical Elf'. "With this trap I was able to gain 300 life points for every monster on the field. That's 1200, which was enough to cancel out your Ring's damage."

The Beast fumed, gripping her hand and digging her nails into her palm until she bled. She flinched and screamed as her life points were hit by her Ring's effect, leaving her with 1300 life points. She clenched her jaw, her eyes flashing like two violet stars. "You...you filthy human! How can you possibly be able to evade death at every twist and turn?" The Beast was just shy of screaming now, her voice ragged.

Yuudai lowered his duel disk a bit. "I've known your style since we began. Your little combo at the beginning gave me a pretty good idea what kind of moves you would be pulling on me. You should have made sure that first move of yours killed me. You sealed your fate leaving me alive this long. I've tuned into you...whatever you are."

"You planned this since then? You swarmed your field to give you a back up life-point boost? That just can't be!" The Beast exclaimed as she scowled at Yuudai.

"You are powerful, I admit." Yuudai said. "But not invincible. I sense great anger in you, as well as the insatiable desire to consume all living things. But...do not think that your primal drives are enough to defeat me..." Yuudai's eyes began to glow, soft at first but steadily growing brighter. "I am fighting for something bigger. I am fighting for someone..."

"Spare me the melodrama." The Beast spat contemptuously.

"You can have your turn." He said softly. He had to give up his turn, for couldn't bring himself to kill Hitomi. He had to sit back this turn and wait for the right moment to weaken the Beast even more.

With a triumphant laugh she yelled to Yuudai. "You didn't attack! I see! You poor thing! You can't give up on my host! There is naught but death for bleeding hearts like you!" The Beast drew a card and eyed it, squinting against the light. "This will do." She thought to herself with a smile. "Mask of Darkness. With this card I can regain my Bad Reaction to Simochi. But just to be safe..." She looked to her hand. "I will set my Negate Attack trap, in case he gets around my monster."

The Beast set her Mask of Darkness and her Negate Attack trap before she gestured to him. "Your move, your highness." She said, smiling confidently. As Yuudai drew his card, she praised herself mentally. "Stupid fool. I'm not done yet. Far am I from done! You survived this long by mere luck alone. I have plenty more cards to take out your measely 400 life points!" She closed her eyes, feeling a sense of excitement rush over her body. "I will finally devour his soul! I will finally make him pay for what he did to me all those years ago!"

Yuudai watched his opponent closely as he considered what do next. "I don't like that smile of hers. She's up to something. I need to step it up. I need to get the upper hand once and for all." He looked down at his hand and picked one of his cards, his life points rising to 800 because of his Fallen One cards.

"I use Solar Recharge." Yuudai declared. "I discard a Ligthsworn from my hand and then I get to draw two cards. Finally, I discard two more from the top of my deck." He did these things as he spoke. He drew his two cards and smiled seeing one of the card he had gained. Yuudai looked up at the Beast and a pulse of energy came from him, reverberating in the confines of the dome in a low drone. Seeing the look in his eyes and feeling a tingle in her flesh from the energy radiating from him, the Beast was filled with a sense of dread.

"This is it. It was nice while it lasted..." Yuudai said, his hair gently tossing, though there wasn't a breeze. He stood tall now, the pain melting away from his body before the strength of his resolve. "I now sacrifice Ryko to summon...Celestia, Lightsworn Angel!" Ryko vanished and a pool of light formed under where he once stood. Shooting up from the pool, Celestia rose into the air, spreading her mighty wings and holding her javelin aloft.

The Beast stopped her foot in response, unable to believe he had countered her again. She glared hatefully into Yuudai's eyes, shaking all over. He knew...she knew that he knew. He had caught onto her last ditch effort to regain dominance. Even though his mouth was covered by his scarf, she knew he was smiling at her.

Yuudai pointed to the Beast's cards. "Celestia! Use your effect and wipe out her two face-down cards!" Celestia pulled back her javelin and with a great twist of her body she hurled it into the Beast's side of the field. Upon striking the ground, it released a wave, shattering her two face down cards. "And now, Lumina! Hit her again for the last time!" At Yuudai's command, Lumina walked at the Beast, who backed away slowly.

"Get away from me!" The Beast hissed threateningly. Lumina didn't stop or even slow in her advance. She cornered the Beast against the wall of the dome and raised her hand. Gripping the Beast's forehead, Lumina smiled spitefully. "Open your mind before him..." Lumina said in a silky smooth voice. Her hand lit up and its light bleached the Beast's vision. A yowl tore from the Beast's throat as she threw back her head and clutched at Lumina's wrist.

The Beast opened her eyes and looked down, her eyes widening in shock at what she beheld. Lumina was gone, but she now stood on the blood-red beach, under the jet-black sky. The little girl, the real Hitomi, stood before her, knee-deep in the shallows and staring off at the horizon. The Beast looked beyond and saw Yuudai standing opposite her, just as they stood in the duel. He was without his scarf and smiling kindly at the child between them. Framing him was a large doorway of light, which cast on the ground a glittering, golden road leading to Hitomi.

The Beast hissed and glared at Yuudai. "What is this? How could you have forced your way back into our mind?"

Yuudai ignored her and reached out with his hand, palm up. "Hitomi. Come. It's time to wake up. You no longer have to suffer this abomination's control."

Hitomi stirred at his voice this time, her eyes regaining some sense of life. The Beast growled seeing this and ran at them, trying seize the girl in order to prevent Yuudai from influencing her further. She was stopped by something lowering into her path. It was the Guardian of Order, whose light once again elicited a cry of pain from the Beast.

"Stand down, creature of Chaos." A voice boomed from the Guardian of Order. "You no longer hold sway over this girl's destiny." His voice was deep and mighty as it echoed all along the stretch of beach. The Beast withdrew and covered her face as she wailed in agony, steam rising off her skin.

Yuudai continued to hold his hand out to Hitomi, calling to her a little more urgently. "It's time to go, Hitomi. You no longer need to feel afraid. You no longer need to look to the past. I'm here for you."

The girl trembled, her eyes doubtful as they stared at the ground between them. She hugged herself and slowly made to look at him, but twitched back, looking to the distant explosions once again. Yuudai reached out more, calling out to her louder. "Hitomi! I'm right here! And I'm not moving from this spot! I am not leaving without you! Hitomi! Look at me!"

The girl slowly turned and smiled a little seeing Yuudai. Yuudai smiled in return and nodded down to his hand. "Come on, Hitomi. Let's go back. Kirei is waiting for us."

"She is?" The little girl asked softly, slowly wading toward him from the shallows. Yuudai nodded to her, but as he opened his mouth to speak the air was filled with a hoarse cry.

"You stupid girl!" The Beast yelled. "You stupid, stupid girl! After all this time, after all the people who have used you, abused you and pushed you out of their lives, you are going to trust him?" The Beast peeked out from between her elongated fingers. Her face was now creased and more like that of an animal in appearance than that of a human.

The girl looked back at her, finding images of countless faces without names and jeering voices without words in the eyes of the Beast. She trembled and her eyes filled with tears. "I...I don't..."

"Hitomi."

She turned to look up at Yuudai, who was within arm's reach of her. He didn't approach her, but he did not leave her, his hand still offered to her. "The choice is entirely yours Hitomi. Don't let fear dictate your decisions anymore. I'm here if you need me and I always will be. All you have to do is come to me. I will be here. So will Kirei. We're not leaving your side...not now, not ever."

She stared at him, her expression filled with uncertainty, and something different in Yuudai's eyes. Deep in those fiery hues she saw Kirei and herself talking as they walked; she saw herself sitting by a fire, laughing with the only two friends she's ever had, clutching Yuudai's coat tightly around her; she saw Yuudai and Kirei, one standing before her and the other in back of her, selflessly defending her from the Avodah Zara.

With a smile, the child reached up and gently settled her fingers in Yuudai's hand. He folded his fingers over hers and gently guided her away. They entered the doorway of light and the beach melted away behind them. As the darkness shrank in their wake, the Beast screamed in agony, calling after them.

"Not again! You disgusting humans! I swear this is not the last time you will see me! I swear it!"

**Ω**

Hitomi opened her eyes with a start and found herself standing in the middle of a duel. She drew a frightened breath and looked around at the bright dome around her, trying to get her bearings. "Yuudai? Kirei? Are you there?" She called out, unbidden tears filling her eyes. "What's happening? Where am I?"

"Over here..."

Hitomi looked across the field and saw Yuudai kneeling on the ground. She stood stricken and her heart sank at he sight of him so hurt. Her cards slowly slipped from her hand until they fluttered to the ground. "Yu...Yuudai..." She choked, her emotions tightening her throat.

Yuudai looked up at her and chuckled in spite of himself. "Hey Hitomi..."

Hot tears streamed down Hitomi's cheeks as she sobbed. "Yuudai...Yuudai, no! I am so sorry! I'm so sorry for doing this to you! Please forgive me!" She trembled uncontrollably and hugged herself, reliving all the times she's found herself surrounded by dead bodies. But this time was different: she could witness the death of her only friend first hand. Once this duel ended, one of them would have to die.

Yuudai shook his head at her. "Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn't do this, that Beast did. I'm just happy you are safe."

"Oh, Yuudai..." Hitomi wept as she brought her hands to her face. "Just...attack me...attack me and end it! It's best if I finally die! I refuse to let you die because of me! I couldn't bear it if you ended up like all the others!"

"That won't be necessary." Yuudai said between a cough, bringing a hand to his mouth. "I will do no such thing, Hitomi..."

Hitomi kept her hands over her face, crying. "But Yuudai. One of us is going to lose our soul. I rather it be me. I rather it be me!"

"Don't say that." Yuudai said softly, shaking his head.

"It's true! I'm an abomination and I need to be stopped before I kill anyone else! Just kill me, Yuudai!" Hitomi cried back desperately. "Just do it!"

"Stop it!" Yuudai barked out vehemently, his voice breaking. "I will have no such thing! I won't hear another word of this, you hear me? I didn't fight as hard as I did to just let you die, Hitomi!"

"Yuudai..." Hitomi said, peeking out between her fingers. "What else is there to do?"

Yuudai slowly got onto his feet, but he leaned to one side, his knee bent awkwardly. He raised his duel disk before him and moved his hand so it rested on his deck. "I know one way to end this...it's the only way..."

Hitomi lowered her hands and gripped them tight. "No...No! Yuudai, don't! Don't you dare die on me! You promised!"

"There is no other way. I refuse to let you die, Hitomi." Yuudai looked up at her, his eyes apologetic. "Forgive me..." He looked down at his hand as it rested on his deck and softly uttered, "I forfeit the duel." He felt a rush of relief fill him as his monsters faded away and their duel disks deactivated. The duel was finally over. He knew in his heart this was the right thing to do - the only thing.

"No!" Hitomi screamed at the top of her voice.

Yuudai closed his eyes, waiting for his soul to leave him. Both waited for a long time, but nothing happened and Yuudai remained alive. He slowly opened his eyes hearing Hitomi calling to get his attention. He looked up and around, his eyes widening at what he saw.

Around them the dome was fading, slowly falling to the ground until it was no more. Hitomi looked around, hiccuping. "Look! But...but how? How can this be? Why is it going away?"

"I...I don't know!" Yuudai said, completely taken by surprise. "I should...I should have died..." He closed his eyes half-way and hanged his head, gripping his hands and leaving furrows in the dirt. With a rueful smile he shook his head, feeling somewhat cheated by cheating death. "Why can't I just die?"

Just outside the perimeter of the falling dome, Kirei was wringing her hands impatiently. She had her back to them as she muttered to herself. "It's been so long now! When are they ever gonna finish up? The suspense is killing me!" She groaned through clenched teeth. She noticed the bounty hunter's surprised expression and she turned, nearly fall back in surprise seeing Hitomi, Yuudai and their monsters.

"Hu-wha-?" Kirei blurted.

Yuudai reached back and loosened his scarf, letting the material slide down to his neck. Doing this revealed a large blood stain on his bottom lip and chin. He used his scarf to wipe the blood off and he took a deep, cleansing breath. Now that the Twilight Duel was over with, the strain it imparted on his body vanished with it.

He gasped as Hitomi hit into him, her arms locking around his neck. She buried her face into his chest and cried hard. She cried until her voice became hoarse and even then she did not stop. Yuudai wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "It's okay, Hitomi...it's okay now..."

Kirei came running over, her face blanched white. "Bro! Hitomi! Are you two okay? What in the world happened in there?"

"Yuudai. You shouldn't have...done that...not for me...not for me..." Hitomi cried, her voice muffled into his chest. "You could have died...You shouldn't have given up!"

Kirei's eyes widened hearing Hitomi and she looked to Yuudai, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Bro...you forfeited...didn't you?"

"Yes..." Yuudai said, his eyes were distant as he stared down at Hitomi. "And yet somehow the dome died out when Hitomi was freed. Odd...I should have died in there..."

"Bro!"

He looked up, only to receive a smack to the cheek. He looked off to the side because of the force of the blow, his one eye twitching. Only when he had recovered did he look to see who had hit him.

Kirei's face was flushed in anger as she glared at him. She was trembling, still holding up her hand from hitting him. "Don't you ever, and I mean _ever_, do something like that again!" Kirei said in a low tone, her voice shaking with pure emotion.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed as Yuudai and Kirei stared at one another. Kirei bit her lip and then put her arms akimbo, looking off indignantly.

"That...was very unfair of you bro...I could have lost you...you're all I have in this world. You know that. And you know now I can't possibly forgive myself for letting you go into that duel alone, don't you? I could have done something..." Kirei fell silent.

Yuudai bowed his head to her slightly, silently thinking over the weight of her words. He had to smile, for the smack had helped clear his head. "I'm sorry sis. You're right. That was stupid of me. I didn't mean to upset you. I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously." Kirei said sarcastically. She looked back at Yuudai, her eyes glassy. She sniffled and swiped a hand over her eyes quickly, not wanting anyone to see her tears. "What ever am I going to do with you?" She said in exasperation. "Why bro? Why did you give up like that? At least tell why! It'll make forgiving you a little easier...you know can't ever stay mad at you."

"I had to prove something to myself..." Yuudai said, just barely audible.

Kirei raised her brow, tilting her head to the side as she thought his answer over. "Prove what, bro? What could possibly be worth losing your life over?"

Yuudai's eyes looked up into hers, his face still downcast. "...I had to prove that I could prevent it from happening again, sis. I couldn't let it happen to Hitomi like it happened to..." He stopped himself and hesitated. "Like...it happened all those years ago..." His gaze imparted to Kirei a silent secret, one both knew all to well.

Kirei's face softened hearing this. "Bro..."

Hitomi sniffled and looked up at Yuudai, her face tearstained and her eyes bloodshot. Despite her appearance she had the sweetest smile for him. "Yuudai, thank you so much. Thank you for fighting for me." She said before she hiccuped.

Yuudai looked down, examining her eyes and her face. "I did it..." He thought to himself. So close was he to failing...Hitomi could have died in that duel. Worse yet, he could have died while Hitomi was still trapped in the Beast's control. Kirei could have died as well once the duel was over and the Beast was free. He walked on the edge of a knife and succeeded. He had succeeded where he had failed in his past. He returned her smile as he tightened his embrace. "I finally did it..."

Hitomi snuggled into his chest again and Yuudai stroked her hair soothingly. "No one ever stayed by me like this." Hitomi whispered, her fingers gripping the back of his shirt. "Thank you, both of you, for being my friends."

Kirei sighed in exasperation and wrapped her arms around the both of them. "Idiots...cut out that mushy stuff..." Kirei muttered, a tear falling down her cheek. "I'm...happy you're both okay..." She closed her eyes and nudged her forehead into Yuudai's shoulder. She smiled a little feeling Yuudai's arm slip around her back.

All three friends fell silent and held each other close. Some yards away the bounty hunter watched them. Tears ran like rivers down his face as he rubbed his arm across his eyes. His face went into spasms as he tried to remain expressionless.

"Why on earth am I crying? It's not like it was such a big deal! Stupid kids. I mean...I..." He stopped abruptly to let out a sob.


End file.
